Mnemosyne
by Ember Silverly
Summary: Several years after the end of the game, Squall is called back to lead Garden against the threat of a new Sorceress. Meanwhile, across the globe, Seifer finds himself once again playing the role of Sorceress' Knight. Squall/Zell, Seifer/Quistis, others. COMPLETE
1. Prologue

Mnemosyne

_A/N: Its been a long while since I wrote anything, so I may be a little rusty. Anyway, this is a result of Theatrythm making me want to replay FF8 and a pitifully small number of Squall/Zell fics out there. My intention is to make this a much larger fic, but honestly we'll see where this ends up. Sorry for the massive prologue. I had several disconnected ideas floating around that I wanted use to bridge the time period between when the game ended and where my story begins (hence the prologue title.) _

_Disclaimer: I own nothing of importance._

Prologue: Bridge between Past and Present

_Inside Ultimecia's Castle_

With a sigh of relief, Zell climbed the last of the stairs to reach the landing leading to the the narrow hallway. He could feel the chill of the castle air seep into his bones, making every step seem longer than it was. Stifling a groan, Zell turned to offer Rinoa a hand up the last stair. She smiled a tight thanks as he pulled her to the top. Irvine was the last of their small group to top the stairs, his gun out but dragging near the ground. Somewhere in the last round of exploring the large castle, Irvine's signature cowboy hat had been lost.

Zell was exhausted. Hell, they all were. Selphie had thrown her nunchaku down at her feet while she curled into a ball against the hallway's bannister. Quistis was slumped over the railing as if she would never move again. Only Squall stood straight and proud.

"Squall, we need a break," Rinoa announced. The black-haired beauty walked over to Selphie and bonelessly fell to next to her, hugging her knees to her chest. "I can't go on anymore right now."

Selphie murmured her agreement. Quistis just yawned.

"Won't kill us to take a break, Squall," Irvine added. He went and sat down next to Selphie, pulled her gently against him. "Approach the rest of this damned castle with a fresh a mind."

"Irvine and Selphie are right," Quistis added, straightening herself up suddenly. "We should set a watch and get some rest."

Zell looked out over the balustrade onto the floor several hundred feet below them. The only way up was the very stairs they had just climbed. The open hallway was short and narrow, only decorated by a faded red carpet running through the middle. The far side of the hallway was blocked by two large stone doors.

"Its defensible enough," Zell added. "I'll take first watch." Not like the hard stone make for a comfortable rest anyway.

Squall looked them over and slowly nodded. "Fine." He walked over to the other side of hallway, placed his back against the railing and slid down. Perhaps he was as exhausted as the rest of them.

Quistis heaved a large sigh, gave Zell a tight smile. "You sure you'll be alright?" she asked.

After Zell's nod of reassurance, Quistis curled up against Rinoa, the two girls using each other for comfort and support on the cold stone.

Zell yawned, stretched and started slowly pacing up and down the hallway. If he stopped like the others had, he would stiffen up. A fire would be nice but would probably attract more monsters than it would be worth.

After several trips up and down the hallway, the breathing of the others settled into the slow rhythms that indicated sleep. Other than their steady breathing and Zell's own footsteps on the stone ground, the silence was pervasive. Even with the others asleep, Zell could feel the tension in the air. They were close to Ultimecia. While he wasn't the most observant person in the world, even Zell could feel it. Upon reaching the door, Zell turned on his heel and walked back towards the sleeping group.

Zell glanced at his Commander as he passed. Squall wasn't sleeping. Instead, he was resting his head on his knees, his eyes following Zell's movements. "What's up?" he asked.

Typically, Squall didn't respond. After several seconds of not unexpected silence, Zell continued on his self imposed patrol route. Zell stopped at the top of the stairs, turned around and headed back. Squall was still watching him.

Zell stopped in front of the slightly younger boy. He squatted down so that he could Squall in the eyes. "You should sleep, Squall."

Squall blinked back at him and lifted his head a little. He didn't say anything but shook his head ever so slightly.

"Can't sleep?" Zell wasn't surprised. With the weight of, quite literally, the world on his shoulders, it was a shock to find the Commander had trouble sleeping.

Squall shook his head in response. Zell sniffed and sat down beside him. "Me neither. That's why I took first watch." They sat in silence for several moments. Zell was certain he wasn't going to get much out of the man sitting next to him.

Zell's muscles began to ache with a bone-deep exhausted. If he didn't move soon, he wouldn't move at all for several hours. Hours they didn't necessarily have.

"What if I'm wrong?"

Zell looked over at Squall, not sure he had heard the soft voice correctly. Squall was hiding his face in his arms on top of his legs.

"If I make the wrong call here, it's over. Not just for me, or us, but for everyone. If someone dies here, it will be my fault. Everyone will blame me. I'll blame me." Squall's voice was low enough that Zell had to strain to hear it clearly.

Zell closed his eyes, his throat tightening. What could he say? A lot did depend on Squall, there was no denying that. And a bad call could end everything. And Squall wasn't perfect.

Zell pushed himself to his knees and moved in front of Squall, cupping his cheek until Squall lifted his eyes to Zell's. "Hey, you're doing the best you can with what you have. We all know that. Everyone knows that. No one will blame you if you fuck up." Squall didn't look convinced. Zell forced a smile to his face. "Besides, even if you make a bad call and we all die, there won't be anyone left to call you on it. See, no blame."

To Zell's surprise, Squall chuckled. The chuckle became a laugh, the laugh the beginning of a strangled sob. Zell quickly shifted his position to be next to Squall. He tugged on Squall and, when he met no resistance, settled the Commander so his head was resting on Zell's lap. Zell buried his fingers in Squall's hair and let the boy cry himself out while Zell did his best to silently soothe him.

Zell rested his head back against the stone railing as Squall's breathing settled into sleep. There was something warm, fuzzy, and protective growing in his belly mixed with a certain fierce pride. Squall had confided in _him_. Not Rinoa. He had to be strong for Rinoa, be her perfect Knight. He couldn't express fear or doubt, not to her. And Zell was the one he had picked to share that side of himself with.

Looking down at the sleeping Lion in his lap, Zell knew he was lost.

_14 Months After the Defeat of Ultimecia_

In spite of the bright sunlight, the day was rather chilly as the small group gathered by the gates of Balamb garden to wish the happy couple farewell. Rinoa was smiling and as she lifted the last of their boxes into the back of the tightly packed car.

"Don't forget to write!" Selphie called, jumping enthusiastically and hugging Rinoa as soon as her arms were free.

Rinoa laughed. "We're only going to Deling City," she said. "Its not that far. I'm sure we'll visit often."

Zell shook his head. That was bullshit. He had seen people move away enough to know better. They would all keep up a certain amount of communication for several months. They might even visit back and forth a few times. But eventually cards would be relegated to Christmas only and visits would stop. That of course would be right before they stopped talking completely. Probably about the time Squall and Rinoa popped out their first kid. "Make sure you do!" Zell told Rinoa cheerfully. His smile hurt.

"If not, I may have to keep this one from chasing you down," Irvine added, pulled Selphie off of Rinoa and keeping an arm about her shoulders.

"If you need anything," Quistis added, looking at Squall, "make sure to ask. You know we'll always be here for you."

Squall didn't respond.

"We know, Quistis," Rinoa said. "But we have a small apartment and Daddy found a position for Squall in the military, so I think we're set." She turned and gave a sweet smile to Squall. "Right, dear?"

Squall nodded. "Can't think of what else we'd need," he replied. He looked up at the sky. "Its getting late, Rinoa. If we're making Balamb today, we should get going."

Rinoa nodded, gave a last round of hugs to the group and climbed into the car. Selphie pounced on Squall and squeezed him while Zell, Quistis, and Irvine shook the former Commander's hand before he got into the driver's side of the car.

It was with a tight throat that Zell watched Squall drive away into the setting sun. Selphie was chattering something about planning a trip next time a mission took them near Deling. Zell let the smile drain from his face as he turned on his heel and walked back into the Garden. He had a mission later today to prepare for. He didn't notice Quistis' thoughtful stare in his direction.

"Everything alright, Quisty?" Irvine asked, following the former instructor's gaze.

"Zell didn't give up his Guardian Forces yet, did he?" she asked, eyes narrowing.

Selphie shook her head. After the War, the small group had agreed to limit their use of the dangerous creatures in hopes that their memories would return fully. Squall, acting as Commander of the Garden had actually gone so far as to ban their use until further study. "He keeps telling me later," Selphie said.

Irvine frowned. "Funny thing about later is it never comes," he said.

_2 Years after Leaving Garden_

Squall fingered the small box in his pocket, his heart stuttering much faster than it should as he walked along the busy street of Deling City towards his apartment. Peace had been good for the former SeeD. The duties of a Galbadian Soldier in peacetime were nothing like the demanding job of saving the world. He talked with Laguna regularly, most often at Rinoa's insistence. The insufferable man had been hinting recently about grandchildren. Recently, he and Rinoa were discussing buying a house.

It may have taken him awhile to get used to the relationship but Rinoa had been patient in teaching. And, just like when she had dragged him onto the dance floor against his will, Squall was beginning to enjoy the idea of spending his life with the Sorceress.

Deling City itself was mostly unchanged. Rinoa enjoyed the busy life of the city. Squall thought he could do with something a little more peaceful, but it was easy to lose himself in crowds here like it never had been in Garden.

Squall turned off the main road and onto the side street that housed his and Rinoa's apartment. In this part of the city there were fewer shops and more houses and apartment complexes. Across the street from their apartment was a small park.

Squall turned the box over in his pocket again, willing his stomach to settle. There was no reason to be nervous. This was, after all, the next logical step.

Shoving the box firmly inside of his pocket, Squall mounted the steps to their apartment complex. The doorman had the door open and waiting for Squall. Bypassing the mailboxes, Squall quickly climbed the three floors to his and Rinoa's apartment. Squall paused for only second outside of the door before he pushed it open.

Instead of seeing the nicely decorated living room, arranged to Rinoa's expectations, Squall walked into a large amount of boxes strewn across the otherwise bare room. Rinoa was sitting on top of one of the boxes, a box of tissues in her hand, her eyes red and puffy and a black duffel bag at her feet.

"What happened?" Squall asked, looking around the room.

Rinoa jumped and stared at Squall, her eyes watering as she looked at him. "I'm sorry," she said. "I-I can't do this anymore."

Squall frowned. Can't do what? He didn't vocalize the question.

"I thought I could, that we could work but we can't. I can't. You share anything of yourself with me and I-I can't do that. Not anymore. This has been a long time coming and it may seem foolish and ill-thought out but its not. I've thought about it a lot a-and...I'm leaving." Rinoa stood up suddenly and picked up the duffel bag.

Squall felt light-headed and almost dizzy. He found it was hard to catch his breath. When Rinoa came towards him, he backed away, instinctively. He wanted to say something, to do something. To ask why. To stop her from going. He did nothing.

Rinoa stopped to look at him once last time. She offered him a small smile. "Movers will be here tomorrow to get the rest of my things. I'm sorry Squall." Tearing her eyes away from Squall, Rinoa walked out of the apartment, the door thudding shut behind her.

Squall supposed their relationship was more like the waltz he had danced with Rinoa than he had first thought.

_1 Year after Rinoa's Departure_

Quistis took a deep breath and stepped off the Ragnorak. Laguna had loaned her the plane to get to Squall since time was of the essence and Winhill was notoriously hard to reach through conventional means.

The small town was pretty much unchanged as Quistis supposed all small towns were. She wished she had notified Squall of her arrival but Ellone had insisted the surprise might be the best option, especially since Squall hadn't spoken to any of them since giving them the news of Rinoa's abrupt decision and his equally quick one to move himself to Winhill. Selphie had wanted to visit right away, but everyone thought it better if Squall had been given time to himself. If he had wanted them, he would have let them know.

Now thought, it was a matter of urgency. Steeling herself, Quistis passed through the town center and into the small bar that had once been Squall's mother. The bar empty- it was only early afternoon, except for the brown-haired bartender behind the counter.

"Can I help...Quisits?" Squall stopped polishing the bar to stare at his former teacher.

Swallowing, Quistis stepped up to the bar. "Squall, I'm glad to see you." She held out her hand as Squall moved around to her side of the bar.

Instead of taking her hand, Squall enveloped her in a hug. Quistis stiffened momentarily at the unexpected gesture but relaxed into it. His blue shirt was soft on her face and he smelled of the polish he was using the wipe down the bar.

"What brings you here, Quisty?" Squall asked as he released her.

Quistis absently readjusted her uniform and shifted under the weight of Squall's gaze. What was he seeing? "Business unfortunately," she said. Why exactly had she stayed away so long?

"I assumed," Squall replied. He leaned back against the bar, cool eyes never leaving Quistis. "Something wrong with the Garden?"

Quistis walked over and seated herself on a stool. She wished Squall would stop watching her so intently. What was he seeing? "Not precisely, not yet. There have been reports of a Sorceress raising hell on the Centra continent. We don't have much information yet; we only recently dispatched a small squad of SeeD top investigate. But we have reason to believe she is raising an army, whoever she is."

"And you're coming to me...to do what?" Squall's voice was flat. "Do you think its Rinoa?"

Quistis felt a chill go down her spine. That thought had occurred to her but she hoped... "No, I don't. But we don't have information yet." She paused and took a deep breath. "You haven't heard anything, have you?"

Squall shook his head. "Is that all then? You wanted to make sure I didn't know anything?"

Quistis shook her head. She stood up and cleared her throat. "I would like to formally request your presence at Balamb Garden, Commander Leonhart."

The room was silent. Quistis did her best not to fidget.

Suddenly, as if making a decision, Squall nodded. It was time to head back home.


	2. Chapter 1 Homecoming

_A/N: First chapter up! I don't think I'll keep up the pace I've set, especially since I'm out of town this weekend, but we'll see what happens on Monday. I hope things are making sense that no one is too out of character (although a four year gap from the ages of 17-22-ish allow me a little freedom in character development)._

Chapter 1- Homecoming

_Crunch._

Turn.

Dodge.

Punch.

_Crunch_.

Zell stepped back to observe his work. The Ochu was dead. Certainly by now. Beside him, his student panted heavily as she collapsed onto the ground with a thud. Zell turned and stifled a laugh at her exhaustion. "You okay Rena?" he asked.

The blond girl looked up at him, her green eyes alight with something akin to joy. "Hell yeah, sir." She pushed herself to her feet. "Couldn't be better." She reached down to brush the dust off her pants.

Zell clapped her on the shoulder and looked towards the edge of the woods. They still had a while to go before they reached the open, and marginally safer, plains on the way to Dollet.

"Just, I thought, you know, we wouldn't have a freaking monster this close to Galbadia Garden," Rena said.

Zell laughed. "Shows what you know."

"Isn't that what you SeeDs are for?"

"Isn't that what you're training for?" Rena laughed and started walking in the general direction towards the end of the woods.

Zell stretched before following his student. They had been on a training mission for the past week, near Galbadia. Zell and Rena had stopped over for the day only to receive an urgent message from Xu demanding Zell's immediate presence. It would be good to get home to a hot meal and shower. Not to mention a bed. Rena was holding up well. Zell would be able to give her regular teachers a stunning report.

"How much longer we have?" Rena asked, stopping in front of a rather large log. "You know, till the train station?"

"A long walk, at least." Zell hopped over the log. He turned and watched Rena do the same.

"Course." Rena continued walking ahead of Zell.

Zell followed the young girl, his sense alert for anything amiss. So far, so good. There were probably several monsters around but nothing too difficult for an experience SeeD member and a talented but often over-enthusiastic student.

Rena jumped over a small stream, missing the far bank and landing in the water with a splash. Zell laughed at her indignant shriek as he cleared the same stream with an easy leap.

It was only when Rena has pulled herself up to the bank that Zell noticed how uncommonly still the forest was. He had only a moment to tense himself before a Behemoth crashed through the forest. Zell grabbed Rena just in time to avoid the crashing paw of the beast. They both tumbled to the side, Zell sheltering the girl with his body as best he could.

Rena was quick on the rebound stood up, flexing her shifts. She looked to Zell for guidance. There shouldn't be a Behemoth here.

"Support magic," Zell said quickly. "Blind and poison him if you can. Leave the fighting to me."

To her credit, Rena immediately began following Zell's orders. She wasn't a strong mage but would do her best. Zell left her and flew towards the Behemoth, doing his best to distract the monster from his student. Zell threw a punch towards the beast, effectively calling its attention. Zell jumped back before the Behemoth could recover from his assault just as Rena's blind spell hit it. The spell bounced off without seeming to affect creature. Zell fell back and called up Quezacotl. This one was too much for him on his own, especially with a student to protect.

Zell lost his bearings as the Guardian Force took over. As always, the rush of power felt almost orgasmic as it ran through him. Zell stopped caring about anything other than the fight at hand and the sheer joy of having a massive amounts of power at his fingertips. It didn't take long before the Behemoth was dead. Zell fought to regain control of himself and banished Quezacotl, forcing the Guardian to the deeper recesses of his mind.

When Zell came to himself fully, Rena was staring at him as though she had never seen him before.

"Was that...a Gaurdian Force? I thought they weren't allowed anymore..." Her green eyes were wide.

Zell shrugged. He still felt a little weak and dizzy. Thank Hyne he hadn't called one of the more powerful creatures. He might not have been able to stop it from...

"Yeah, it was. When...the..." Zell blanked for a moment. Who has cancelled the order for the Guardian Force? Why was he allowed one? "I had them before the order against them went out. No one forced me to give them up, so I didn't." That wasn't quite right. Zell had the vaguest memories of some rather heated arguments between him and Selphie. But he couldn't remember why precisely the GFs were bad or why he had insisted on keeping his.

Rena nodded, still a little wide-eyed. "I guess... we should hurry?" she asked.

Zell nodded. "Remind me to report the Behemoth to Xu when we get in," he said. "No reason it should be here. Something big must be going on." Between the presence of the monster near Galbadia and the urgent order to return to Balamb, Zell had a bad feeling.

Rena nodded and they started walking. If Rena seemed more nervous around Zell than before, Zell pretended not to notice.

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The flight to Balamb promised to be short and rather uneventful. Quistis didn't have any more information to offer Squall regarding the Sorceress attacks and their conversation soon faltered into an uneasy silence.

Squall thought briefly about breaking the silence but he had never been one for starting conversations. Besides, after three years, what was there to talk about? Other than everything. Perhaps that was the problem; Squall didn't know where to begin.

Apparently Quistis was an uncomfortable with the silence as Squall was. "Garden hasn't changed much," she said rather suddenly. "Xu's been the acting Commander while you've been away."

"What about Cid?" Squall looked out through the glass cockpit to watch the world fly by behind him.

"Retired with Matron to the Centra continent. Their running an orphanage." Squall glanced up to see Quistis smile tightly. "There were a lot of orphans after we stopped Ultimecia."

Squall knew. He wondered how many of those who died could have been saved if he had been stronger, faster, or smarter. "Isn't that where you said the new Sorceress is? Shouldn't they be removed?"

"We have SeeDs working on relocation as we speak. Once Xu heard the reports she called in all senior SeeD members and sent out an investigation team and the relocation team."

Squall nodded. "What about the others?" He moved back to his seat.

"Irvine has stayed on. Selphie had a lot to do with that. And Selphie is one of our senior staff. She spends a lot of time training the younger students. She has a talent for it."

Squall could see that. Her energy and patience would work well to rein in the younger students. "Bet she never has trouble recruiting them for the Festival Committee."

Quistis laughed. "I believe detentions are a great source of free labor."

"What about you?"

"Headmistress. We're almost to Balamb, now, Squall. You might want to put your seatbelt on for the landing."

Squall did as Quistis requested. Headmistress wasn't surprising either. "And Zell?" The blonde's name almost stuck in his throat. It wasn't until after Rinoa left that he had realized just what exactly Zell had done for him during the war and how much he owed the fighter.

"Zell is...fine."

Fine? What did the hell did that mean? It wasn't like Quistis to be so vague.

But before Squall could ask Quistis for clarification, the Ragnorok had landed and the doors were opening. It was time for Squall to face Balamb Garden for the first time in three years.

Quistis stood up and motioned Squall to go first. Squall did so and stepped off Ragnorok's ramp into Balamb's warm sunshine. As Quistis had said, nothing much had changed at first glance. Squall felt a smile gracing his lips at the familiar site of Balamb Garden's blue towers.

"Squall!"

Squall barely had time to brace himself before being pounced on by Selphie. Instead of her usual yellow sundress, the young woman was clothed in black pants with the violet shirt. She squeezed him tight for a moment before pulling back to put Squall at arm's length. "So glad Quisty was able to convince you come back! We thought you were going to hide in Winhill forever! What the hell was Rinoa thinking leaving you so suddenly? If I see her again, I'm going to give her a piece..."

"Easy, Selph." Irvine's laconic drawl cut through Selphie's chatter. He pulled his girlfriend tight against his black shirt and offered Squall a hand. "Give the Commander a chance to breathe."

Squall took the hand and gave it a firm shake. "Good to see you again, Selphie. Irvine." He nodded to both. "And...congratulations."

Selphie looked momentarily startled but she smiled immediately, her hand dropping to her stomach. "Thanks. It was sort of..unexpected..." She looked uncertainly at Irvine.

"But certainly welcome," the sharpshooter said.

"Enough you two. We can celebrate Squall's return later. I want to check in with Xu to see if we learned anything else." Quistis stepped off the Ragnorok and started walking towards the entrance to the Garden. "Has Zell returned?"

Giving an apologetic glance at Squall, Selphie started after Quistis. "Not yet. He checked in with Galbadia though and said he was on his way."

Squall and Irvine followed after the ladies, fighting a sense of deja vu. A happy deja vu, but still an awkward feeling.

"I guess Quistis filled you in?" Irvine asked. They passed into Balamb's lobby and headed for the elevator in the center of the room. The cool air was a relief from the almost too warm exterior. It was pleasant to hear the familiar sound of the Garden's many fountains tinkling in the background. Other than that, the Garden was eerily quiet.

"A little. Where are all the students?" Squall asked.

"Peace, man. With the world not fighting each other, there's no need for mercenaries. No mercenaries means no money means no students."

"And we have war with a Sorceress brewing?"

Quistis and Selphie were waiting in the elevator by the time Squall mounted the steps.

"We'll be ready for whatever you need, Squall," Quistis said.

Selphie nodded. "It is the middle of a weekday, Squall. Most of the students are in classes. Its not quite as dire as Irvy makes it sound."

Squall didn't respond to that but just raised his eyebrow. Irvine shrugged and motioned for Squall to precede him into the elevator. Squall did so and the door closed shut behind Irvine and the elevator began to ascend.

Xu was waiting when they stepped out. Her hair was a little longer but other than that, she was unchanged. Upon seeing Squall, she saluted sharply. "Good to see you, Commander."

Squall nodded and stepped out of the elevator, the others following close behind him. "What's the situation?"

"We just received a report from Seifer and relocation of former Sorceress Edea and Cid has begun." Xu motioned that Squall and the other should follow her to into the office.

"Seifer?" The man had actually become a SeeD? Well, good for him.

"Xu set him, Raijin, and Fujin to collect Matron," Selphie supplied. "Seifer's been a great help around here since you left."

In addition to the desk that had been Squall's when he was Commander, the office now contained a large rectangular table likely for meetings. The top of the table was spread with several different stacks of papers which looked like reports to Squall's practiced eye. It was to this table that Xu and Quistis headed. They stood behind two of the seats, leaving the head of the table free. Squall followed along and stopped by the head seat.

"Hey, I gotta class now, but Squall, we'll catch up after your meeting, right?" Selphie chirped.

Squall nodded. "Yeah, after the meeting. And a shower. Its been a long day."

Selphie squealed and hopped once in place before leaving the office at top speed.

"Easy there, babe!" Irvine called after her.

Quistis chuckled. "Still as energetic as ever," she said.

Irvine gave the headmistress as wry grin. "Yeah, I just wish she was a little less so...especially now." He tipped his hat. "Anyway, Selph gave me a couple of errands to run for tonight so I guess I'll see you three around. Good to you see you again, Squall. Don't stay away so long next time."

Squall nodded his goodbye to Irvine who left quickly. Once the office door was closed, Squall took his seat at the head of the table. Xu and Quistis quickly sat down themselves.

"So, here's what we know from our agent in the area," Xu said, giving Squall a stack of papers.

Squall glanced through the informal report. It didn't contain any information that Quistis hadn't told him in Winhill."Quistis indicated we were still investigating."

"We are. So far we know that it is definitely a Sorceress and that she is collecting an army of some sort. Several small towns and villages have been razed by her army." Xu's voice was tight.

"But why? It makes no sense to destroy small towns." Quistis was thoughtful.

"Unless she wants to attract our attention. Or she thinks that we can't stop her." Squall kept his voice flat. If the Sorceress was Rinoa, she might want to attract their attention. But that made no sense. Why would Rinoa...

"Its true, we don't have the men at hand that we did while Cid was in charge," Xu said.

"Which is a good thing," Quistis added. "No war is better for everyone in the long run."

"Until you need an army."

Squall interrupted the ladies before their bickering could become any more intense. They were already annoying. More so because they were both right. "Who is our investigating agent?"

"Radomil Adler. He's been on our top infiltration and investigation specialists for almost five years now." Xu's voice was crisp as she was called back on task. She shuffled some of the papers on the table and handed Squall the report.

"I don't recall him." Squall looked over the dossier. For all that Squall didn't remember him, he seemed to have been responsible for much of the classified information that had crossed Squall desk during his short tenure as Commander.

"Then he's doing his job," Quistis said. "You've probably seen him around the Garden and never noticed."

"So, what's the next step?" Xu asked.

Squall sat back and thought. He didn't want this. He had been enjoying his time as barkeep in Winhill, a nice and relaxed sort of life that he had never had before. But, he was here and he wouldn't let his friends down. For whatever reason, they felt that Squall was the best choice to fight an unknown Sorceress on the Centra Continent. Squall would lead them again.

"We are waiting, Squall," Quistis said with some modicrum of asperity.

"There's not much to do until we know more," Squall said finally. "Have a copy of all relevant information, including changes in Garden facilities and staff, prepared for me. I'll read over it tonight and catch myself up on details. From there, we'll wait for more information." Squall turned to face Xu. "Quistis said you called in all senior SeeD?"

Xu nodded. "Yes, Sir. They will be arriving within the next couple of days."

"Good. See what you can do to boost recruitment. If we need to, we can stall for time until we get more trained. We should also let Galbadia and Trabia know what is going on."

"Already done. Shall I let them know that we're increasing recruitment efforts?"

Squall nodded and stood up. "I think that's all for now. If you don't mind, I'd like to go unpack and take a hot shower."

Quistis and Xu both stood as soon as Squall did. "I'll show you to your room, Squall," Quistis told him. Xu saluted again as Squall followed Quistis out of the office.

Squall wasn't sure what made Quistis and Xu less qualified to run the Garden than he was, but if they needed him, or thought they needed him, he would be there for them. That was his role as Commander and Squall hadn't shed it nearly as much as he thought he had.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Zell stretched, feeling every muscle in his back crack. His report to Xu had been written on the train ride back to Balamb. Rena had been given a once-over by Dr. Kadowaki and sent to get herself food and rest. Zell had turned in his report to a very distracted Xu and headed back to his room for a nice hot shower. Now, he was starving.

Xu hadn't said much to him since she had been on the phone with Shirin Mika, the head of Trabia Garden. Zell had quietly left the paperwork on the Commander's desk and scooted out before Xu could put him to work. She had motioned to him to stay a moment, but Zell was having none of that.

Throwing on a gray sweatshirt, Zell let himself out of his room. It was awfully quiet today. He hadn't even seen Selphie and she was normally by his room before he was even out of the shower. The girl was positively convinced that if she didn't personally greet Zell the moment he returned to Garden, he would forget her. As if he would ever.

The cafeteria where Zell headed first was absolutely deserted. It was late for dinner but usually there were a couple of faculty or students present. Today, no one. Not even the cafeteria staff.

Frowning, Zell headed towards the only other likely location for the staff of Balamb Garden. He didn't think Selphie had scheduled a party today, but it was entirely likely that he had lost track of time on his mission with Rena. It was definitely too early for the Garden Festival though. Zell was sure of that.

When he entered the Quad, Zell immediately noticed the increase of people. There weren't party decorations strewn all over the place, so he supposed the party was last minute. Good. If was last minute, then Selphie couldn't accuse him of forgetting.

"Zell!" Zell turned to catch the eye of Nida. "Glad you're back," the man said. "Xu said you left her office before she could tell you herself."

"Tell me what?" Zell looked over at where the largest circle of people were standing, including Quistis, Selphie, Irvine, and Xu. In the center was a scarred man with brown hair. He seemed quite familiar with the small group around him, though Zell thought he knew all of their friends.

"The Commander's returned to help out." Nida pointed in the general direction of the man and the group.

"Commander? Help out with what?"

Nida was quiet for a moment. When Zell turned to look at him, Nida visibly swallowed band backed away, mentioning that maybe Zell should go talk to Quistis or Xu.

Frowning, Zell headed over to his friends. They stopped in their conversation as Zell approached. He hated that. It made it seem as though they had been talking about him.

"Zell! Glad you're back!" Selphie said. She seemed more tense than normal and she didn't pounce on him like she normally would have. Perhaps Irvine had finally gotten through to her that she should be more careful in her condition.

The brown-haired man was studying him intently. Zell fought the urge to squirm under the weight of his gaze. He seemed to be looking for something. "Yeah," Zell told Selphie. "Xu called me back because of an emergency...?"

"There's a threat building in on the Centra Continent," Xu said. "You'll find the reports on your desk in the morning. I would have handed them to you earlier today..."

"But I snuck out before you could. Yeah, yeah , I get it." Zell turned to the stranger. "So, you are...?"

Selphie made a little noise of disappointment that was quickly stifled.

The brown-haired man's face remained impassive, though Zell caught a flash of something in his eyes before it was repressed. "Squall Leonhart," he said, his voice flat without intonation. "We fought in the Sorceress War together."

"Huh. Well then, nice to meet you. Or, see you again, I guess." Sorceress War, huh. The Second one? Of course, that would have been the only he fought in. With Quistis, and Selphie, and Irvine. And Rinoa. For the life of him however, he could not remember this man. Maybe they hadn't fought together, just worked together once?

"He led our team, Zell," Quistis said softly.

Zell glared at Quistis. "Of course he was," he snapped. Quistis didn't jump back, but she did raise her eyebrows at him. "Look, its been a long day and I'm starved."

With that, Zell turned his back on the group and went to find food. That would put him in a better mood. And maybe it would jog a memory loose about this 'Commander'.


	3. Chapter 2 Lost

_A/N: Chapter 2 is done. I think I have some direction for where this is going now (other than Squall/Zell yay!), though, which means it's more likely get finished now. Also, my sister challenged my husband to Camp NANO, so I think I might join them and use this. _

]

Chapter 2- Lost

"Done?" Fujin asked, waving her arm towards the large white building.

Seifer shrugged. "If there anymore kids in there, they're hiding pretty damn good." He looked over his shoulder where Matron and Cid were climbing slowly over the rocky ground. Matron was simply in a brown, calf-length dress, her black hair pulled back in a simple braid. Cid was more casually than he had ever been while running Balamb Garden in just jeans and a blue t-shirt. Both were carrying rather large suitcases.

"There are no more children here," Matron said as she approached. "I believe I know how many young are under my care."

Cid nodded his agreement. He looked up at the large airship that President Loire had lent Balamb for the evacuation. "This is a little different than I remember the Ragnorok."

Seifer turned to study the airship. It was of a similar size and shape to the Ragnorok, though slightly more streamlined. It was also a silver-blue color rather than the red-brown of the previous ship. "Second gen prototype borrowed from the President," Seifer said. "He called it the Valhalla. Faster than the Ragnorok."

Raijin appeared in the doorway at the top of the boarding ramp of the ship. "The kids are getting restless, ya know!" he called. Behind him a little girl was seen peeking out from behind his legs. She waved urgently in Matron's direction.

Seifer smirked at his friend. "Overwhelmed there, Rai?"

Raijin looked like he was about to say something in response but glanced at Matron and changed his mind. "Just, hurry up, ya know!"

"No rush," Fujin called back.

"Still, I don't like how exposed we are," Seifer muttered. He jerked his head in the general direction of the Valhalla. "You two should get on."

Matron and Cid both walked towards the ship more slowly than Seifer felt entirely comfortable with. The Valhalla was beautiful. But it was also large and rather conspicuous and they'd been here for several hours prepping the evacuation. Seifer had hoped that they would have been more prepared by the time he had landed, but kids took forever to do anything. It had only been Matron's patient guidance that had kept them even remotely close to the timeline. If it had been up to Seifer, he would have just thrown the kids onto the Valhalla and left while they were still crying. He supposed it was a good thing he wasn't in charge of the evacuation.

Fujin headed up the ramp with Cid at her side. Matron followed while Seifer brought up the rear.

A low rumble caught Seifer's attention. He turned to look. It sounded like thunder but was too steady to be natural.

Seifer narrowed his eyes and exchanged a glance with Fujin at the top of the ramp. She nodded once to indicate that she heard the noise as well.

"I think we should hurry it..." Seifer's suggestion was lost as a group of black vehicles appeared on the horizon. From the vehicles came several missiles flying at high speed towards the Valhalla. They became caught in a quickly caste Barrier Spell flung from Matron. Matron stumbled from the impact and Seifer caught her as she fell.

Cid hesitated a moment.

"GO!" Fujin grabbed the former headmaster and pulled him the last few feet onto the Valhalla as more missiles started heading in their direction. At the bottom of the ramp, Seifer pulled Matron to her feet and started to drag her up the ramp, racing against the flying projectiles. About half-way up the ramp, the missiles hit, one landing inches from Seifer and Matron, sending them falling down the ramp as it broke to pieces beneath them.

Seifer barely had time to case a float spell on Matron before impacting the ground hard. He caught his breath as the last of the missiles hit the Valhalla. From his vantage point on the ground, Seifer could see Fujin push Raijin away from the door.

Matron held her hand out towards Seifer to help him up. "We need to hurry away from here," she said.

Seifer took her hand and stumbled to his feet. "Brilliant plan, Matron." He looked around for some sort of shelter. "This way," he said, keeping hold of Matron's hand and dragging her towards the white building. No guarantee they wouldn't bomb the orphanage but it would provide more cover than the open ground.

Matron nodded. Fortunately, it seemed the attackers were more focused on the Valhalla than the duo fleeing across open ground.

Seifer was out of breath by the time they reached the relative safety of the building. From within the shelter of the ruins, Seifer turned to watch the Valhalla take off into the air. He could just make out Fujin's form still standing in the doorway.

"We can't stay here," Matron said between breaths.

Seifer nodded. "Any ideas?"

"There's a boat out back. We might be able to get away before ground troops come in."

"Or they decide to bomb us." Seifter motioned for Matron to lead the way towards the boat. If they could take the boat to the nearby forest, they might have a chance of getting behind the army and making their way back to Balamb.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Selphie winced as the door to the Commander's office closed with a solid thud. She stood next to Irvine, Quistis and Xu while Squall leaned against the table and glared at them as a whole.

"Why was he allowed to keep his GF?"

Selphie desperately wished to be anywhere but here. Or that Quistis and Xu had backed her up when she said that Zell's insistence on keeping the GFS was not natural. Or healthy.

"We are studying the effects of long-term exposure..." Xu began.

Squall cut her off. "On _Zell_?"

Xu shut up. Which was most likely a good thing for her. That was not the best way to begin this conversation.

"He didn't want to give them up, Squall," Quistis said. "I didn't want to force the issue. And, if he was going to have them anyway..."

"You thought he would make the perfect test subject." Squall looked over to the right. "And I suppose you haven't told the researchers in Esthar about your guinea pig, have you?"

Silence met Squall's statement.

"I think the ladies just went about telling you this in the wrong way, Squall," Irvine said. He walked over to the table and sat down in the first chair. He leaned back and put his booted feet up on the table. Selphie felt herself breath a little easier. Irvine would know what to say. He usually did. "The thing is, Zell was trying to forget something. Dunno why, but he was. He knew what he was doing but he didn't want to talk about it. I remember quite the few arguments between Selph and Zell about it in the beginning. Dealt with the fallout after a few of them myself. I assume Quistis and Xu had a similar time of it."

They didn't. They had left the arguing up to Selphie, but she wasn't going to say anything about that. Not now, when Irvine was making things better.

"So, you gave up?" Squall's voice was neutral. Neutral was better than the ice of before.

"I didn't," Selphie said. "I really, really didn't. I tell him everytime he comes back to Balamb. But he never listened and now well..."

"You saw how he acted downstairs," Quistis said. "He flies into a rage whenever anyone implies that he doesn't remember something."

"So why is he still on missions?"

Xu handled this one. "Because he's damned good. He's also great for training our older students. As far as his memory is concerned, he remembers missions and tactical information just fine."

"It's the long-term stuff he has trouble remembering. Anything more than a few years ago," Selphie said.

Squall turned his gaze on her. Selphie wanted to shrink away and hide. Be anywhere but here.

Squall looked like he was about to say something else when the phone on the Commander's desk rang suddenly.

Xu, Quistis, and Squall exchanged a glance as the phone rang for a second time. Squall walked over to pick it up.

Selphie drifted over to Irvine, feeling rather light headed. She slumped down into the chair next to him and rested her head on the desk. "I feel so stupid," she said.

"Don't, Selph," Irvine said, placing a hand on her head. "I know you did everything you could. You're not exactly in a position to give Zell orders." Implying of course, that Quistis and Xu should have known better.

Squall's conversation ended and Selphie heard him hang up the phone.

"News, Commander?" Xu asked.

Selphie picked up her head.

"Fujin was reporting in. The Valhalla is on its way here with twenty tired and exhausted children. They should be here in a few hours."

"Fujin was reporting?" Quistis frowned.

Squall nodded. "As the Valhalla was preparing for departure it was attacked by an unknown force, presumably our Sorceress' army. Seifer and Matron were thrown from the boarding ramp and are considered missing in action until further notice."

Selphie drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Her first instinct was to demand permission to go after them but she knew that was a stupid idea.

"I assume we are not mounting a rescue mission at this point in time?" Xu asked.

Squall paused. The silence in the room was rather almost tangible. "We can't. Unless I'm mistaken, we don't have the manpower, even if we knew where they were." Squall sounded almost sounded regretful. He was silent for a few more minutes. "Are the reports ready for me, Xu?" he asked, his voice changing back its much more normal neutral tone.

Xu nodded. "On your desk, Commander."

"Fine then. It's late, you're all dismissed for the night." Without another look at them, Squall walked to his desk and sat down, picking up the stack of papers on it.

Quistis and Xu looked at each other for a moment. Irvine stood up. He pulled Selphie up and slung an arm around her shoulder. As he passed Quistis, he pulled her under his other arm. "Come on ladies, I'm exhausted. Let's get to sleep." With that, Irvine led the small group from the office.

Selphie thought there was something she should say to Squall. Some sort of apology to make or... something. But by the time she even had formulat half a thought, Irvine had closed the door to the elevator and started its descent.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Squall's neck was still stiff from reading reports for the vast majority of the night. Shaking his damp hair out of his face, Squall left his room to head towards the cafeteria for a quick breakfast for a meeting with Xu, Martin, and Mike this morning to debrief together.

The hallways were quieter than they had been when Squall was a student, though there was, thankfully, life. Several students were in the hallway heading to their first class of the day or breakfast and Squall recognized at least a few of the teachers and SeeD in the hallway.

Squall wondered if they still had decent monsters in the training center. He could use a good workout with his gunblade. It had been a while since he had used it for anything more than practice. A shame Seifer wasn't returning. Squall could have used the workout against another human being. On the other hand, he had the feeling he would have more than enough real-life practice before long.

Squall was stopped in his tracks when a blond girl walked right into him. She almost fell but Squall reached out to steady her before she could.

"Oh Hyne!" the girl, said, straightening herself quickly. She saluted. "Commander, I didn't mean..."

Squall indicated that she could relax. Apparently he was more well-known than he had thought. Then again, she was old enough that she might have been one of the younger students from the Sorceress War.

"Rena! What are you doing?" Zell came out from the hallway from the Quad. Possibly helping Selphie clean up from last night.

"Sorry, Zell...uh, I mean, Instructor Dincht. I just sort of..."

"She's fine, Zell," Squall said.

Zell turned to look at him. Still no hint of recognition in them. Squall attempted to not be disappointed.

"You're going to be late, Rena," Zell told her.

The girl nodded quickly and moved to step around Squall. Before going anywhere, she turned to Zell. "Did you remember to mention the Behemoth?" she asked.

"What Behemoth?" Squall asked. They had been near Galbadia. There shouldn't have been...

"Behemoth?" Zell paused for a moment, as though trying to recall.

Rena's eyes widened slightly. She turned to Squall. "Commander, a Behemoth attacked Instructor Dincht and in the forest near Galbadia Garden on the way to the train station. Instructor Dincht mentioned that it was unusual for one to be there."

Squall nodded. "Thank you for mentioning it, Cadet..."

"Rena Scheer, sir."

"Thank you, Cadet Sheer." Squall nodded in dismissal at her and the girl saluted again before walking towards the elevator and her classes.

Squall and Zell watched her go for a moment.

"Behemoth?" Squall asked his friend.

Zell narrowed his eyes at him in something that was almost anger. "Yeah. Slipped my mind last night with everyone in the Quad."

"But it wasn't in your report."

"So? Most likely it was just a stray monster anyway." Zell started walking in the general direction of the cafeteria.

Squall followed. He could chose to push issue. But it would accomplish nothing except to alienate Zell. Something that Squall did not want.

"Have you had breakfast yet?" Squall fell into step next to Zell.

"Was just heading there now, Commander."

They walked without talking to the cafeteria. The perk of being the Commander was that Squall didn't have to wait in line. And neither did anyone with him.

The cafeteria was still crowded but Squall found a table in the corner to himself and sat down. After a couple seconds of consideration, Zell joined him.

It was almost like eating with a stranger. It seemed as though Zell had matured greatly since the last time Squall had seen him. Although perhaps, matured wasn't quite the right word. He was certainly more irritable than Squall had ever seen him, a side effect of losing his memories perhaps. But also less talkative and open.

"So, you led my squad in the Sorceress War?" Zell's question was rather sudden.

Squall looked up from his food. Zell was leaning back in his chair, arms crossed, his breakfast was untouched. "Yes." Squall paused for a moment, unsure how the next question would be taken. Zell's eyes were guarded. "You don't remember?"

Zell shook his head. "Side effect of using the Guardian Forces."

After Zell didn't say anything more, Squall went back to eating under Zell's scrutiny.

"So, what did you do?" Zell asked.

"Huh?"

"That made me want to forget you. Must've been something. I mean, hell, I vaguely remember Rinoa and I haven't seen her in...well, I don't remember the last time I saw her." Zell twisted his lips rather ironically.

Squall shook his head. What had he done to make Zell forget him so completely? It must have been deliberate on Zell's part if he remembered other parts of the War. Or did he? Was it possible that he remembered only the historical accounts and what the others had told him? But they wouldn't have left Squall out of their stories. Squall realized he hadn't answered Zell yet. "I don't know what I did."

"But we were friends?"

Squall nodded. Best friends. There was no one that Squall had relied on more than Zell. If he had understood that sooner...

Zell stood up from the table, his chair scraping against the ground and his breakfast uneaten. "Well, I guess sucks for you then, doesn't it?"


	4. Chapter 3 Missing in Action

_A/N: This one is a little longer than intended. Sorry for the massive amount of minor spelling mistakes. I'm putting this up as I write it, unbeta-ed. So, for now, deal with it. I might go back and fix things when this is finished, although I'll be starting school by then, so who knows if I'll have the time. _

Chapter 3- Missing in Action

By the time Squall arrived for the meeting in his office, Xu had already set up the conference call with Martine and Mika in the center of the large table. Squall studied it rather curiously as it was a device that had not been used during his time as Commander.

"Have a seat, Commander. We are ready to begin." Xu motioned for Squall to take the seat in front of the screens.

Squall nodded once to Xu and took his seat. Xu stood patiently behind him, folders held at her side.

"Good to see you again, Leonhart," Shirin Mika said. He was a slim man with a pointed beard and black eyes hidden behind wire-framed glasses. After the destruction of Trabia during the Sorceress war, Mika had organized the Garden's rebuilding and made himself the Headmaster of the Garden. In general, Squall had found the man amiable and easy to work with.

"Glad you came back for this mess we're in," Martine added. He was unchanged since Squall had last seen him. "Mika said he had new information for us just before you walked in."

"I'm listening." Squall motioned for Xu to sit. She made him nervous when she hovered just out of his sight.

"It seems as though the army our Sorceress made mostly comes from disaffected Galbadian soldiers. A lot of them former students at all three of our Gardens," Mika said. "And, this Sorceress has been building the army for several years. Before Sorceress Edea took over Galbadia."

"That far back?" Martine asked. "How do you know they are former students?" He narrowed his eyes as though he didn't necessarily want to believe what Mika was saying.

Squall sat up a little straighter. If the Sorceress had been building an army that long then it wasn't Rinoa. To his right, he saw Xu offer him a tight smile. She sat back more comfortably in her chair.

"I sent several of my current agents to investigate students who had been expelled or dismissed for various reasons over the years," Mika said. "I thought it might be a good idea to keep an eye on SeeD trained individuals who were no longer associated with the Garden. Several of them had vanished shortly after being dismissed." Mika pushed his glasses up on his face. "Then I took the liberty of researching former students of Galbadia."

"I don't recall giving you permission for that."

"General Caraway had the names for me," Mika replied, unperturbed by Martine's glare. "The great thing about a strong centralized government is that you keep track of your soldiers."

"Did you find the same thing in Galbadia?" Squall asked.

Mika nodded. "Many of Galbadia's expulsions had gone to Edea's army for a few years. Then, they vanished. Just like ours."

"But where they hiding?" Xu asked. "They didn't vanish into thin air only to reappear now under a new Sorceress."

"You have data on Balamb's expulsions?" Martine asked.

Squall looked over to Xu. "Can you get Mika a report of students who have been asked to leave over the past several years?"

Xu nodded. "I can dig up the information and send it over by tomorrow."

"Thank you, Xu," Mika said. "And, to answer your question, I'm looking for that information now. My guess is somewhere in Esthar." He looked at Squall.

Squall shrugged. "I'll call President Loire as soon as we're done here and see if he knows anything." As if Laguna ever knew anything useful. Maybe Kiros would be the better place to start. But if they had known something, they would have mentioned it before now, right?

"In the meantime, what are we doing?" Martine asked. "How are we going to stop this idiocy from spreading beyond Centra Continent?"

"We're gathering information Martine," Mika replied. "What else do you want us to do?"

"We know where they are, let's strike. Overwhelm them before they can dig in."

"We know where they are," Squall said. "We even have a good idea as to their exact location as of yesterday. But we don't know how long they'll be there or what their numbers are."

"Which is what I'm in the process of finding out," Mika said. "Unless you wanted to send in our forces blind?"

"Not blind. Esthar must know something; one of their ships was spotted by our agents returning from the area."

"Unless the President is part of it," Mika said.

Squall rolled his eyes. "If President Loire is involved with a Sorceress, I doubt he would have lent us the ship that was seen coming back." Out of the corner of his eye, Squall saw Xu give an almost imperceptible shake of her head. Apparently Balamb had never officially acknowledged their connection with Edea.

Mika raised an eyebrow while Martine glowered. "What was Balamb doing on the Centra continent?" he asked.

"Retrieving three agents that had been in the area previously," Squall said. "President Loire loaned us his new prototype airship, the Valhalla." In fact, it should be returning soon. Squall wrote a set of orders on a scrap of paper and passed it to Xu. Selphie could take care of the new arrivals.

Xu read the paper, nodded to Squall and left the office.

"What were the agents doing in the area?" Martine asked.

Squall allowed his face to go blank. Martine had certainly gotten demanding since he'd been gone. "Official Garden business."

Mika cleared his throat. "How fortunate it is for Balamb that President Loire is able to lend his personal airships at your request."

"Yes, it is fortunate for us," Squall said. "Back to business. I propose we continue to gather information while increasing our recruitment efforts until we have something tangible to work with. I'm concerned that this Sorceress seems to have a connection with Garden. Let's see if we can figure out exactly what that connection is before we strike."

"Why?" Martine asked. "She's clearly a threat to the safety of the world."

"Why? Just because she's a Sorceress?" Squall asked.

"I'm with Leonhart on this one, Martine," Mika added. "If we know why, maybe we can find a strategic advantage against her."

Martine narrowed his eyes at the other two Commanders. Eventually, he nodded. "Fine. Galbadia will not make a strike until we have more information. Excuse me gentlemen, I have work to do." With no other warning than that, Martine signed out of the teleconference.

"Again, good to see you back, Leonhart," Mika said before nodding amiably and signing off himself.

Squall leaned back in his chair, his temples pounding. He had a sudden longing for his quiet bar in Winhill.

With a sigh, Squall pushed himself to his feet and walked over to his desk. He had a lot of work to do and very little time to do it in. Starting with calling his father.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Seifer collapsed where he was standing not giving a damn about the rocks digging into his back or the sand tickling his ear. He heard Matron walk over to settle herself somewhere.

"We don't have long to rest," Matron said, her voice as calm and cool as ever as though they had not just pulled a heavy wooden boat to shore.

"Yeah," Seifer said. He sat up. The world might or might not have swam a little as he did so. "But where are we going from here? That piece of crap isn't going to take us all the way to Balamb." Seifer waved towards the boat that had started leaking almost as soon as they had left the shore. Which was why they had only skirted the coast of Centra instead of actually going somewhere useful. And why, after travelling through the night, they had only landed just behind enemy lines. On the bright side, Seifer could tell Squall the army was bloody huge when they got back to Balamb. That sort of information was useful.

"To the army, of course," Matron said. She was sitting rather primly on top of the largest rock in the area. As she poke, she pulled a hand through her tangled braid, unravelling it as she went.

"Huh?" Seifer looked around at the deserted beach. In front of him was the ocean. Behind them was the thick forest that would offer shelter as they decided what to do. Beyond the forest, was the army they had been avoiding. "Why would we go to the army?"

"Simple." Matron finished untangling her hair with her hands and began to rebraid it, her fingers moving deftly through the dark strands. "You betrayed Garden once before. Rather publicly as well. It's not such a great stretch to believe you would do it again."

Seifer frowned. He had only betrayed Garden because the bitch sitting next to him had bespelled him. It wasn't as if he had any say over the matter. Seifer bit back the accusation before he called Edea out on it, remembering that she had been as much a tool as he had been. And, to some extent, they had both wanted it. "Go on." Seifer was surprised at how rough his voice sounded. "Why exactly would I betray Balamb this time? And what about you?"

Matron finished braiding her hair. She smiled. "Simple. You found out that Balamb was protecting the Sorceress who used you." She pointed her herself. "Therefore, you captured me both out of revenge for your personal wrongs and to deprive Balamb of a powerful ally. You are coming to _this_ Sorceress, whoever she is, in order to get revenge on Balamb for their treatment of you and to fulfill, of your own free will this time, your dream of being a Sorceress' Knight."

"What?" There were many, many flaws with this plan. And Seifer hadn't even had time to think about it.

Matron smiled again. "Can you think of a better plan? Or were we just going to hide out in the forest until Squall swoops in and rescues us."

Seifer stood up. "No. This way we might actually get some useful information. And if Squall sends someone after us, I'm going to kick his ass." No way was rescue going to come. Not behind an unknown enemy line.

"Precisely my thought," Matron said.

"But you..." Seifer trailed off.

Matron stood up. "We don't have all day, Seifer. Let's get going." Without looking behind her, Matron started walking in the direction of the forest leaving Seifer to trail behind her.

Seifer cursed to himself as he ran to catch up to his former mentor.

It wasn't long before the forest enveloped the duo completely. The forest was thick with undergrowth and not much light made its way down to the surface of the ground. The sound of insects and other animals filled the air over top the sound of the army in the distance. Siefer might have been concerned about losing his way if the constant hum of noise wasn't leading them towards the army. It wasn't long before a thought occurred to Seifer. He stopped. "Matron."

Matron turned to look at Seifer with a raised eyebrow. "Thought of a better plan then?"

Seifer shook his head. "We're likely to run into scouts out here. It won't look like you're my prisoner if you're leading the way."

Matron pursed her lips for a moment in thought. Then she nodded. Reaching down, she tore at the hem of her skirt until a rather thick strip broke free. She handed the strip to Seifer. "Then tie me up. At least my hands. Clearly, I need to be able to walk."

Seifer swallowed and took the strip of cloth of Matron. Matron obligingly held her hands behind her as Seifer tied them. He tried not to make them too tight but they did need to look convincing.

"You might want to rip another piece off of my skirt and gag me as well," Matron said as Seifer finished tying the knot.

"What? Don't be ridiculous!"

"Everyone knows that Sorceresses need to be able to speak in order to cast spells. Therefore, if I'm not casting magic, you must have me gagged."

"But you're not a Sorceress anymore." This was getting ridiculous. He should have just kept his mouth shut.

"This Sorceress does not know that."

Seifer cursed again and reached down to edge of Matron's dress. He was suddenly very aware of how close she was to him and how awkward the situation was. "You should have done this yourself first," he muttered.

"I didn't think about it until now," Matron said.

Seifer cursed yet again when he ripped the dress a little too far. The strip came off in an uneven tatter. How the hell had Matron ripped hers so neatly.

Seifer stepped back. Instead of being a neat calf-length dress, the hem (was that even the right word?) was uneven and came up to just above Matron's knees in some places. At least she was covered decently.

"Just so we're clear on this," Seifer said as he gently pulled Matron's hair out of the way so he could gag her. "You didn't fucking resist me and I didn't hit you."

Seifer ignored Matron's uncharacteristic giggle as he pulled his gunblade and pressed it against her back. Once again, they started stumbling through the ground towards the sound of the Sorceress' army.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"Wow!" Selphie looked up at the blue-silver ship's descent into Balamb's courtyard. It was the second airship she had seen in as many days but this one was beautiful! "Laguna totally should have lent that one to Quisty yesterday."

Beside her, Zell looked up, shading his eyes with his hand against the glare. "Sure is a beauty." Why is the Esthar President loaning us his airships?"

Selphie pulled her eyes away from the ship to look at Zell. She hesitated.

Zell put his hand down and looked at her. "What?"

"Because Laguna is Squall's father. We knew that." Selphie wished with all her heart that Zell would remember. If he gave up the GFs now, the memories would all come back. She was certain of that. It had worked for her and Squall and Irvine and Seifer and Quistis.

"Oh. Right." Zell shaded his eyes and turned them back to the airship.

Selphie sighed. It wasn't long before the ship landed. The door opened and Raijin appeared in the doorway.

Selphie waved energetically. "I got rope!" she called. With the ramp destroyed, they would have a blast getting the children down from the ship. Which was why Squall suggested she and Zell handle the matter. Well, ordered. But it was a nice order.

"Good thinking, ya know!" Raijin waved back. Selphie tossed the rope up to the man who caught it deftly and looped it around one of the many protrusions on the Valhalla. Once the rope was tied, he gave it a sharp tug. It held.

As he did so, Fujin showed up in the doorway with a line of kids behind her. They looked tired, hungry, and sleepy. Cid appeared at the end of the line, holding the youngest one in his arms. He looked pale.

"Listen up, kids!" Raijin said. "Miss Selphie here's gonna direct you down this rope. Make sure you pay attention, ya know!"

Selphie waved at the kids. "Ok!" Selphie kept her voice as upbeat as possible. "Here's what we're going to do. You're all going to be very brave and climb down this rope. If you fall, Zell or I will catch you. But you won't fall because you're all so strong! I can see it from here. After you do this one last thing for us, we have ice cream because you have all been so great!"

The little girl in first in line nodded. She looked over at Raijin who listed her onto the rope. She shimmied down it quickly. Once she was on the ground, Selphie gathered the girl up in a big hug, praised her bravery and waited for the next one. Beside her, she could see that Zell was bored. He was shifting from foot to foot, staring off into space. Well, he was an emergency measure if needed. Most of this job was making sure the children believed they could do it. For the very few who actually couldn't, that was Zell's job.

After the first five children, the sixth hesitated. He was a little boy with a mop of blondish hair. Selphie attempted to coax him down. The boy absolutely refused and eventually started crying softly.

At this point, Zell climbed the rope, grabbed the boy, and brought him down safely. Fortunately, after that incident, the rest of the disembarkation went smoothly. There were only a few of the very young that Zell had to carry, including the one in Cid's arms. Finally, Cid,

Fujin, and Raijin made their way off the ship, the rope still dangling behind.

"That was nice work, Selphie," Cid told her.

Selphie grinned. "Thank you sir," she said. "There's food in the cafeteria for the kids, including the promised ice cream. Then Quistis arranged for a camp-out in the library until we can get the dorms set up."

Cid nodded his thanks. He turned to Zell. "Thank you for your help as well, Zell." Cid turned away and started ushering the kids into the Garden.

Selphie watched Zell's brow furrow. Of course he didn't remember Cid either.

"That was a pain in the ass, ya know," Raijin said as soon as the kids were out of earshot.

"Seifer?" Fujin asked Selphie.

Selphie shook her head. "We haven't heard anything."

"What's wrong with Seifer?" Zell asked.

Of course, he hadn't been with them when Squall had received Fujin's call.

"Missing with Edea, ya know." Raijin looked uncomfortable.

"Ship was attacked. Seifer and Edea not on board," Fujin explained.

Zell frowned. "So, what is the Commander doing about this?"

Selphie shrugged. "What should he do? He can't send anyone into an unknown army."

"But Seifer's a SeeD. We don't just abandon our men because it's too dangerous!"

"Seifer wouldn't want anyone to come after him, ya know. Give him a chance to play hero." In spite of his words, Raijin looked to Fujin for confirmation.

Fujin nodded. "Seifer will be fine." She yawned. "Tired."

"You two are supposed to be his friends and you're..."

Selphie cut Zell off by placing a hand on his arm. Zell stilled, at least long enough for Selphie to get a word in. "Go get some rest. Squall will let you know when he wants a full report."

Raijin and Fujin waved goodbye and headed into the Garden.

Selphie rounded on Zell. "What the hell, Zell?" she asked. "They just came back from a rather shitty mission and you're giving them hell for something they had no control over? They did the right thing by getting the children back here first. You don't need to make them feel shitty about it."

Zell had the grace to look sheepish. He cleared his throat and looked over at the ground. "Right. Wasn't thinking there. Still, who the hell is this Commander that he just leaves SeeDs in danger? He should mount a search..."

"You know that's ridiculous, Zell." Selphie didn't have time for his bullshit right now. She had a class in about ten minutes. She had coverage but if she could get there in time, that would be less for her to catch up on later. "No Commander would order a SeeD into that situation. No matter how close they were to the missing people."

Zell looked like he wanted to argue about it some more. "But Selph, if it was Irvine..."

"But its not Irvine. I didn't know you gave a damn about Seifer anyway since he's always picking on you." Selphie fought the urge to roll her eyes. "Look, I gotta go. You wanna argue Squall's decision, go argue with Squall. I'm done with this." Selphie loped off towards her class. If she didn't run, she'd never make it in time.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Zell opened the door to the Commander's office. He was pleased when it banged loudly against the wall. Without waiting for the Commander's comment, Zell let himself into the office.

The Commander turned to look in his direction from the table in the center of the room. Zell could see that President Loire was on the phone. Leonhart didn't say anything but gave Zell a hard glare.

Zell felt momentarily ashamed of his overly-dramatic entrance and placed himself against the wall to glower at Leonhart until he was done with his phone conversation. He wouldn't open his big mouth and mess up things for Garden again.

Again? When had he ever shot off his mouth and gotten Balamb in trouble? Zell drew a blank which only made him frown harder.

"I see you're busy there, Squall," the President of Esthar said. "Was there anything else you needed?"

Leonhart turned back to the screen. "No, thank you for the help though."

Loire grinned. "Any time I can help. You only have to call. I'll let you know as soon as we find something. Or Kiros will. One of us." Loire turned his attention to Zell. "Good to see you too, Zell."

Zell's eyebrows rose. When had he met the President?

Leonhart didn't respond but clicked off the screen quickly. He turned to Zell. "I hope you had a good reason for barging in." His voice was flat and the blue eyes held his own.

Zell pushed himself from the wall and walked towards Leonhart. "Why the hell are you leaving Seifer out in the middle of nowhere?"

"I thought he was on the Centra Continent with Matron. In the middle of an army. Not exactly the middle of nowhere." Leonhart watched him but didn't move in spite of the fact that Zell was standing less than an arm's distance from him, glowering over him.

"Right, the army. That's the problem. Why are you leaving a SeeD out there without support?"

Leonhart raised an eyebrow. Finally, a reaction. "Because I can't get anyone in safely. Why so concerned about Almassy?"

"Because he's one of us! You can't just leave us out there, Leonhart. We're not tools."

"No, you're mercenaries. Professionals. And I expect you to act like it." Leonhart finally pushed himself out of his chair to come nose to nose with Zell. Zell's heart skipped a beat. Without hesitation, Leonhart pushed past Zell and walked to his desk. "And just so we're clear before this goes further, you're not going after him either."

Zell blinked. "What? Like you can stop me!" The thought actually hadn't occurred to him before now. But damn it, if the Commander wouldn't do something, he sure as hell would.

Leonhart sat at his desk and looked up at Zell. He sighed. "Fine. I can't. But I have other plans for you to stop this war with me. If you run off the war will take longer and Seifer will be in more danger not less. So, go after him by yourself if you like. But just know that it will make things more difficult in the long run. I need my best SeeDs available to me." Leonhart looked like he was about to say something else as well but thought better of it.

Zell took a deep breath. He didn't want to give up this fight, to trust that the Commander really did have a plan. He should fight more, argue more. This stranger sitting in Xu's chair couldn't possibly understand what it was to be a SeeD but less to have a companion in mortal danger.

Except that he had led Zell's team in the Sorceress War. Damn, maybe he really did know what he was doing. And he was Zell's Commander.

"Fine. We'll do it your way." The words came from Zell's lips almost grudgingly. Hyne, arguing with this man was like arguing with arguing with an iceberg. You could yell till you were blue in the face but it wouldn't do any good. And, he did have a point. A good one. And Almassy was an ass anyway. He could take care of himself. Not worth losing his SeeD rank for.

Leonhart nodded. "Anything else, Zell?"

Zell shook his head. "Nope. I think you made your point clear." Zell wasn't angry anymore. Perhaps a little tired. He shook his head to clear it out. "I'll just go head down to the training center until you need me for something. Sorry for wasting your time with stuff I should know perfectly well."

Zell turned and headed to the door. He opened it.

Just as the door shut, Zell heard the Commander's voice. "Not a waste, Zell. You always did have a talent for reminding me of the important part of our job ."


	5. Chapter 4 Captured

Chapter 4- Captured

It was nightfall by the time Seifer and Matron ran into the first of the army's scouts. Ran into, literally. The scout appeared from nowhere to hold the two of them at gunpoint.

"Name and purpose." the soldier was wearing a rather standard military uniform, black and blue. He had brown hair and almost no other distinguishing characteristics. A gun was pointed at Seifer.

Seifer could easily take him. But that wasn't really the point of this exercise. He glanced over at Matron. Her braid had come half-loose during the walk- stumble- through the dense forest. Though Seifer had done his best to prevent her from falling, she had stumbled and hit the ground once or twice as shown by the cut on her cheek and dirt on her knees. She did look something like his prisoner now at least. "Seifer Almassy and this," Seifer pushed Matron forward a little so that she stumbled, "is the Sorceress Edea. I captured her." Seifer smirked. He kept his gunblade sheathed.

The guard looked from Seifer to Matron and back again. He slowly lowered his gun. "Weren't you here knight during the Sorceress War three years ago?"

"More like four years and yeah. But that was then. This is now. Take me to the Sorceress. I have info on Balamb."

The guard looked skeptical but Seifer had a feeling the guard was not on a high enough pay scale to be making decisions like this. If he was, he wouldn't be out here in the hot evening humidity. "I'll take you in. The General can decide what to do with you." the man looked a little uncertain now.

Seifer decided to help him out. He drew his gunblade and thrust it towards the soldier, hilt first. "Here, might want to disarm me before we walk any closer to your camp." Seifer dropped the blade forcing the soldier to catch it moments before it hit the ground. "Might look good if you tie me up, but I promise I won't run." Seifer smirked again. Arrogant over-confidence. If he acted like he was fine, he would be. It worked every time. Seifer pushed Matron again towards the sounds of camp which were louder now. Instead of the dull hum of machinery, Seifer could make out the sounds of pots and pans, animals, and the murmur of people. "This way, right?" Keeping a hand on Matron's back, Seifer started walking leaving the guard to scurry behind him.

Seifer was unsurprised to see the forest thinning out the closer he came to the camp. They had been on the edge of the forest when they had attacked the Valhalla. Slowly, the forest turned into rocky ground. In the distance, Seifer could see the circle of armed guards waiting for him. Their guns were trained on him and Matron.

Seifer held up his hands to show that he was unarmed but used his elbow to push Matron along as his pace. She walked slowly and steadily, her head held high as though she was looking out at the horizon.

"Stop right there," one of the soldiers called. He turned to the one following Seifer and Matron. "Unstam, who is this?" From the marks on his shoulder, the man was a Lieutenant for the Sorceress.

"Seifer Almassy, sir. He..turned himself in."

"Actually, I caught Sorceress Edea when she tried to escape to Balamb. I want to see this Sorceress though."

The Lieutenant shifted his eyes to Matron. His eyes widened slightly before he turned back to Seifer. "Take this man into custody."

Immediately Seifer was surrounded with five soldiers holding him at gunpoint. Far too many for him to take. He snarled but held his ground. Getting himself here would do no one any good, least of all Matron.

The Lieutenant turned to Matron and quickly untied both her arms and hands. "My apologies, Sorceress Edea. Are you alright?"

Matron raised her eyebrows and looked at the Lieutenant. "I am fine. What in the world is going on?"

"Sorceress Thyriss was looking for you before you were captured by Balamb garden. We'll go see her right away." The Lieutenant motioned for Matron to proceed him. "Unless of course you want to clean yourself up first."

To her credit, it took Matron only a moment to re-calibrate herself to the new situation. She sniffed. "One moment please Lieutenant. You must release my Knight."

Seifer pushed the soldiers aside to go stand next to the Sorceress.

"Your...Knight?" the Lieutenant looked Siefer up and down. "I thought...he said..."

"Idiot," Seifer muttered. He glowered menacingly at the man.

"Really, I hope Thyriss has more intelligent officers under her command," Matron said, crisply. She glanced down her eyes at the guard who had led them in. "Well, give Seifer back his gunblade."

The guard quickly complied. Seifer took the blade back and held it in front of him. He wasn't sure what the situation was, but something told him to be prepared for anything.

"We were unsure of our welcome here," Matron continued. "The story Seifer told was just that. A story to ensure my safety." Matron brushed the dust off of her knees and straightened her dress as much as possible. "Now, take me to Thyriss. Unless you think that I should explain myself to you?"

The Lieutenant quickly saluted with a "Yes Ma'am," and started walking towards the center of the camp. Matron grabbed onto Seifer's left arm and followed the Lieutenant.

The camp was similar to the ones that Seifer had seen when he really had been the Sorceress' Knight. Tents were laid out in neat rows with campfires near them. The blue and black uniforms were ubiquitous. But it seemed like they used the same ranks as the Galbadian military.

Typically, they were led to the largest tent in the camp. A red-haired woman of about thirty met them in the doorway. Unlike the others, she was dressed in brown capri pants and a blue halter-top. Her curly red-hair was a mess on top of her head and fell nearly to her shoulders. Beside her was a slim blond man dressed a more stylistic variation of the black and blue uniform . In his hands he held a quarterstaff and from the way he held it, Seifer was certain he could use it effectively.

The red-head walked up to Matron. Just before she reached Matron, Seifer stepped in front of her, gunblade held ready. Immediately the quarterstaff man moved into action, pulling the red-head back from Seifer's blade and blocking it with the staff.

The woman giggled. "Such good Knights we have," she said to Matron. She lightly touched the man on the shoulder who stepped back while glowering at Seifer. Seifer cast a glance at Matron who nodded. He put his blade down.

"Sorceress Thyriss, I assume?" Matron asked.

The red-head nodded, a large grin on her face. "Welcome to my tent, Edea," she said. "I was hoping to get to you before Balamb could. I thought I was too late but it seems your Knight had the same idea I did." Thyriss looked at the Lieutenant. "Dismissed, Lieutenant. Thank you for bringing them to me." The Lieutenant saluted and walked into the camp. "Come on into my tent, Edea and I'll explain everything."

"You attempted to rescue me from Balamb with an army?" Matron asked. She followed Thyriss into the tent. Thyriss' Knight and Seifer followed behind.

"Well, I wasn't sure what to expect. Omis had the idea to bring the whole army just in case it was needed. No telling what Commander Xu might have done." Thyriss smiled sweetly at her Knight.

They passed into her tent. It was large and well-lit. A large cot was in the back corner of the tent while a table stood in the center. The table had a map on it and though Seifer couldn't precisely see it, he had the feeling it was of the world. There were several chair situated around the table. A chest was placed at the foot of the cot.

"Xu's not Commander anymore," Seifer said. Thyriss looked at him. "Or at least, she shouldn't be. They called Leonhart back."

"He did kill one Sorceress already," Omis said. "It was a logical decision on Xu's part."

Thyriss walked over to the table and took the chair behind it. Matron, Omis and Seifer situated themselves in the remaining chairs, Seifer placing himself between the Knight and Matron. He kept one eye on the door.

"Perhaps I am missing something," Matron said. "Why would Balamb want to kill me? And why now? They are well aware of where I was."

Thyriss shook her head, her red curls bouncing. "I see we have a lot to catch up on. Why don't you go wash off while I order food and then we can discuss everything. There's a bucket of water out back. I do apologize for the rustic nature of it."

Matron smiled and nodded her thanks. She motioned for Seifer to accompany her to the back of the tent where she quickly washed off her face.

"Thought, Matron?" Seifer asked.

"I say we go with it until further notice," Matron said as she stood up and looked around the camp of armed soldiers. "Besides, I don't think we have much choice at the moment."

Taking his arm, Matron led Seifer back inside the tent to hear from Thyriss why exactly she thought that Balamb Garden was going to hurt Edea.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Squall dodged to the right. He landed firmly on his feet and immediately moved up towards the grat, swinging his gunblade. It connected with the grat's fleshy body, spraying blood across Squall's blad and shirt. Before the grat could bring its tentacle around to get Squall from behind, Squall rolled to the left, regained his feet, and swung again at the grat's other side, killing it in a neat blow. Squall jumped back before the creature could collapse on him.

Stretching, Squall surveyed his surroundings. The training center was deserted at this time of night; even the secret area had been abandoned so the paramours could head to bed before their early classes. Squall had a meeting early as well but...it had been a long time since he had such a good workout. It felt good to stretch and get the kinks out of his system.

Squall didn't bother sheathing his gunblade but rested the edge of it on his shoulder. There would be another monster soon enough.

Taking a few steps towards the next section of the training center, Squall kept his senses alert. He had a lot to think about though. That was definitely one of the reasons for his late night visit to the Center instead of the sleep he should be getting.

There. A rustle in the overgrown jungle to his left. Squall readied his gunblade as a group of three grats appeared. This would be fun.

Squall jumped back out of the first grat's tentacles. A poison or sleep spell would be deadly right now, so he needed to keep his distance. Squall called up a fire spell and launched it at the first grat. The spell just skimmed the grat's skin. He followed the spell towards the creature to land a solid strike against its body. Squall pulled back just in time to avoid the second creature's attack.

The main problem was Zell. He shouldn't be a problem and Squall wasn't sure why he was. Why in the world had he not given up his GFs like everyone else had? What was he trying to forget?

Squall cast another fire spell at the nearest grat. He thought it was the third one this time. Dodging the second grat's attack, Squall moved left behind the group of three, waiting for a chance to strike.

The answer seemed obvious. In order for Zell to have forgotten Squall said volumes. But Squall had no idea what he had done.

Squall struck the third grat a killing blow from behind. The grat collapsed on itself as the first grat landed a tentacle on Squall's right shoulder. Squall rolled with the blow, allowing the momentum from it to push him down and in between the two remaining grats. He cast another fire spell towards the first one that had just attacked him.

Or did he know? Squall thought about all the times after the War he had gone to Zell for advice. Either with his duties as Commander or navigating arguments between his new-found friends, or even his relationship with Rinoa. Squall still vividly remembered the day he and Zell had discussed Rinoa's decision to return to Deling City. Zell had been one-hundred percent behind Squall's desire to go with her.

The fire spell he cast caught on the first grat nicely, toasting the creature almost immediately. Squall turned to face his last opponent. The grat shot poison at Squall. Squall ran into the creature instead of away, surprising the beast. Once he was close enough, Squall killed the grat with a powerful sweep of his gunblade.

But, then again, Zell had asked Squall a question that he had blown off at the time. "Is this what you want or are you doing it because everyone expects you to?" At the time, Squall had been certain it was what he wanted. But after Rinoa had left, Squall had done some heavy thinking in Winhill. It had been good for him.

Squall cleaned his gunblade off and looked around. Nothing for now. Perhaps it was time he started to head back to his bed. If he was late for his own meeting again, Quistis might remind him forcefully. She still carried her whip with her wherever she went. Squall stretched again and started the walk back to the entrance of the training center. With luck, he would be out of the room relatively soon.

If part of loving someone was being able to trust them implicitly, to confide in them and to lean on them, then he had never loved Rinoa and going to Deling City with her had been a mistake that neither of them had realized at the time. It had been unfair to Rinoa and Squall saw that now. Rinoa had taught him a lot. He would be forever grateful to her. Without the black-haired Sorceress, he would never know what he did now. It had been Rinoa to bring down his walls and teach him the value of other human beings.

Squall moved into the final area of the training center without a further fight. He was almost disappointed in the lack of t-rexsaurs this evening, but perhaps it was for the best given his mental distraction.

Who had Squall trusted and confided in? It was an easy answer, even during the Sorceress War. Zell had always been there, never asking for anything or demanding attention. But when Squall had needed someone to talk to, a shoulder to cry on, Zell had been there. When he had been with Rinoa, Squall had interpreted his feelings for the blond as friendship and gratitude. Now though, Squall knew himself better.

Squall exited the training center, the cool air of the Garden proper a relief after the muggy heat of the jungle environment maintained in the center. Squall felt sticky and in desperate need of a shower after his workout. He headed towards his room near the dormitories. It wouldn't be a long walk.

Part of Squall had hoped that he and Zell could rekindle their friendship when he returned to the Garden. The other part had hoped for a chance at more. Now, both parts were thwarted by Zell's decision to forget Squall's existence.

Squall stopped dead in the middle of the hallway.

What had Squall done to make Zell wish to forget him? Nothing. Squall had done nothing. If Squall had relied on Zell then Zell had also come to Squall for advice many, many times. And none of them involving romantic partners. In fact, the pig-tailed librarian aside, Squall couldn't think of anyone, male or female, that Zell had expressed an interest in.

And Zell had always, _always_, been there for him. No questions asked. And he had graciously stepped aside and dropped out of Squall's life when Squall picked Rinoa.

Squall swallowed hard and started walking again.

If he had been unfair to Rinoa for moving away with her them he had been positively injurious towards Zell for the same action.

No wonder Zell forgot him.

_A/N: *Reads over the last chapter* Huh. I guess this actually does have a plot buried in there. The problems of not planning- I did not mean to make Seifer and Edea such important characters. But we'll roll with it. By the way, whatever ship teases are occurring between them is entirely unintentional on Seifer's part. And Edea's just a bitch who enjoys teasing; she is completely loyal to Cid and I have other plans for Seifer. So...yeah, sorry for the strange ship-tease between those. Was not my intention but I have the feeling its going to get worse before it gets better. _


	6. Chapter 5 Orders

_A/N: I hate when author's threaten or beg for reviews, but I just wanted to give readers a gentle reminder that reviews are love!_

Chapter 5- Orders

Squall waited patiently behind his desk. He took one last glance over the files on the desk's surface to ensure that everything was organized. One folder for Selphie and Irvine, the other for Fuujin and Raijin. He hated to send the second duo out so soon after they had just returned, but in their place, Squall would be going crazy looking for his friend. Thank Hyne Zell had reminded him of that yesterday.

The door to his office opened. Irvine, Quistis, and Xu walked in. No Selphie. It was unusual to see the auburn cowboy without his counterpart.

Irvine tipped his hat to Squall and went to sit on the edge of the table. Xu and Quistis saluted. "Selphie will be along in a few moments, Squall," Irvine said. "It was a rough morning."

Squall didn't comment. There was nothing to say. Rough mornings would happen when you were pregnant, whether or not your Commander had a mission for you.

Quistis walked over to take a seat in the chair next to Irvine. Xu remained standing near Squall's shoulder. He needed to find another desk for her.

"Is she alright?" Quistis asked.

Irvine nodded. "Sure is. Or, will be."

"Should you really be sending her off on a mission?" Xu asked Squall with a frown.

Squall leaned back in his chair and looked at Xu steadily.

"I mean, it might be best to keep her here in Balamb..."

"She's not a delicate flower, Xu," Quistis said. "And she still is a SeeD."

"Yeah, she is," Irvine said. "But even a SeeD gets medical leave."

"Four months pregnant does not necessitate..." Quistis was cut off by the arrival of Fuujin and Raijin to the room.

"You better have a plan for Seifer, ya know," Raijin said.

Fuujin kicked him. She saluted. "Commander."

Raijin mimicked Fuujin. Squall noticed Quistis and Xu hiding smiles.

Squall nodded. He motioned for them to take a seat at the table. Irvine gracefully moved himself from his perch to the nearby chair. Fuujin and Raijin took seats across from each other one down from where Irvine had relocated himself.

Squall stood up and grabbed the files. He walked over to the table as the door burst open a final time and Selphie ran in.

"So sorry I'm late!" she said, rushing to the table and taking a seat next to Irvine.

Squall glanced at her. She didn't seem to be sick or hurt, so he assumed she really was fine. "Now that we're all here," Squall started. He ignored Selphie's wince and Irvine's hand on her arm. He wasn't mad, she didn't need to feel guilty. "I have new orders." Squall passed out one folder to Fuujin and one to Selphie.

"Selphie, I need a liaison to Laguna in Esthar. You'll help with his investigations regarding the Sorceress and keep me informed of any new information as soon as you have it." Squall did not include that he did not trust his father to remember this by himself. Kiros was much more reliable but Squall would feel better if Selphie was there. Esthar was also one of the safest places on the planet with some of the best medical coverage Squall could think of. "Irvine, I assume you will accompany her and assist to the best of your ability." Irvine was not technically a SeeD, so Squall couldn't officially give him orders, but Squall didn't think the gunman would object to this assignment.

Apparently, Irvine understood all of Squall's reasons for sending Selphie on this mission rather than another SeeD. He nodded once and relaxed back in his chair. "'Course I will Commander," he said. "In fact, can't think of any other thing I would rather do than travel to Esthar with my little lady right about now."

"You two will also be responsible for returning the Ragnorok and the Valhalla to Laguna."

"Makes sense," Selphie said. "We would need one of them to get in anyway."

"Selphie, you will take the Valhalla and fly directly to Esthar's capital city. Irvine, you will take a more indirect route in the Ragnorok and stop off at the southern tip of the continent to drop off two of my agents." Squall turned to Fuujin and Raijin. "I know its not where Seifer was last seen, but I believe the Sorceress' army may have originated in that area. I want the two of your to investigate and report back anything you find. It may not lead directly to Seifer but..."

"But it may give us clues, ya know," Raijin finished.

Fuujin nodded. "Help us in the long run."

Squall sat down in his seat then. He hadn't been sure how well the duo would take to being given the assignment. Given how they had acted last time Seifer had vanished, he had half expected to them to have left already.

Quistis cleared her throat.

Squall looked at her and waited for her to speak.

"Squall," Quistis began. Then, she stood up and adjusted her uniform. "Commander, I would like to accompany Fuujin and Raijin this mission as well."

"Why, Quistis?" Xu asked, her brow furrowed.

Squall waited.

Quistis seemed uncomfortable with the question, as though she wasn't certain of the answer herself. She paced a little distance from her chair. "Its just that Seifer is one of us, Squall," she said, finally. Funny that Zell had made the same argument to Squall yesterday. The difference was that Quistis actually remembered what the phrase truly meant. She cleared her throat. "I'm concerned about him as well. He was my student once."

"Quistis?" Xu asked. She seemed torn between amusement and concern.

Selphie nodded, energetically. "That's a great idea, Quisty," she said. "The more eyes and minds you have looking, the better right?"

Quistis looked at Selphie and abruptly sat back down in her chair. "That was my thought exactly," she said.

Squall was missing something. He didn't know what but, frankly, he didn't care. If Quistis wanted to go, he could find a temporary headmaster or headmistress to fill her shoes. Squall nodded. "If that's what you want. Fuujin will be in command."

Xu looked from Squall to Selphie to Quistis. "I think I missed something," she said.

"Thank you, Squall," Quistis said. She seemed to deflate in her chair.

Squall stood up in dismissal. "The five of you may leave as soon as you're ready. Xu, let's go over who can fill Quistis' position while she is out on the mission."

The others stood up and saluted as well. Xu followed Squall over to his desk to begin the day's work, which now included replacing Quistis.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"Remind me again why we didn't just set them straight?" Seifer asked. He was sitting on the floor of the tent he and Matron had been assigned. His back was to the center of the tent and he was staring rather pointedly at the tan wall.

"You didn't see Thyriss' eyes as she spoke," Matron said. There was the sound of clothing being removed and thrown aside. "They were the eyes of a fanatic. I would have no luck attempting to reason with her."

"Right, so killing her was out because...?" Even as he spoke, Seifer knew that was a stupid statement. Still, it rankled that they had sat peacefully through dinner with the avowed enemy of all Gardens and done nothing.

"You know why, Seifer." There was more rustling behind him. Then the sound of a zipper.

"Because we would have never escaped alive." Seifer almost turned around to look at Matron. Then he remembered what she was doing. He stoically returned to facing the wall. "I know that. But you do realize that killing our enemies is worth our death right? I mean, if we die but we save the rest of the world, then its worth it, right?"

Matron chuckled. "I'm dressed now, Seifer."

Seifer turned around. The rest of tent looked much like Thyriss' tent minus the table in the center. Thyriss had apologized for the accommodations, citing the War. On the floor near the center of the tent were the blankets where Seifer had slept. Apparently Thyriss believed that Sorceresses and their knights shared beds.

Seifer tried not to think about that concept too much.

Seifer stood up and picked up the blankets. "You didn't answer my question."

Matron sat on the edge of the cot and began to brush her long, black hair. "So, assume for a minute we did kill Thyriss. What happens next?"

"Ormis kills us both before we can react. Even if I managed to take him out, the rest of the camp would kill us." Obvious.

"And then?" Matron finished with the brush and began to braid her hair.

Seifer realized he was still holding the blankets in his hands. He dumped them on the bed. Hopefully they looked like he had an energetic night. "Then..." Seifer sat next to Matron. "Then we have an army of pissed off ex-SeeD trainees looking for revenge." Fuck. This was why he would never be a great leader. Oh, he could follow orders and make decisions in the short term. But now he could see what Xu had seen years ago. He didn't think ahead, didn't plan for reactions to actions. Recognizing this as his weakness was what finally made Xu accept him as a full-fledged SeeD.

"Right." Matron finished with her hair and turned to smile at Seifer. "Which is why we play nice until we can escape and warn Squall."

Seifer lay back on the bed, letting his feet dangle off the edge. His back cracked a little in protest after its hard night's sleep on the tent floor. "Right. In the meantime, we play nice with fanatics who believe that Garden's purpose is to destroy all Sorceresses."

Matron chuckled and stood up. "Well, Thyriss isn't far from the truth of Garden's original purpose. But, in the meantime, I believe Thyriss is expecting my help in organizing the men into the ships that arrived last night and I believe you had a sparring appointment with Ormis."

Seifer sighed and stood up. Maybe he could talk some sense into the Knight. If he was less fanatical than his Sorceress. "I'm coming." He offered Matron his arm and together they stepped out into the bright afternoon sunlight. To his right, Seifer could see the large ships that had arrived to take the army towards Trabia. The first of the three Gardens to fall to Thyriss.

He left Matron at the doorway to Thyriss' tent and went off with Ormis to a nearby clearing. They sparred a warm-up round, both of them taking it slow, feeling each other out.

Ormis suddenly pulled his staff back and leaned on it. "I need a break," he announced.

Seifer smirked. No he didn't. "Sure." He leaned on his gunblade. He would have to remember to sharpen the blade tonight before bed. "Question, while we're breaking." Good time to feel out the Knight as any.

"Shoot," Ormis said.

"How'd you meet your Sorceress?" Around them, the army was packing up and moving. Normally, Seifer assumed that Ormis would be in the thick of things with Thyriss. But today was a day for the two Knights to get to know each other. Thyriss' orders. Or request. Either way.

Ormis pursed his lips in thought. He stared off at a spot behind Seifer. "I've known Thyriss all my life," he said slowly. "We grew up in the town. She was thirteen when we learned what she was. I went to Balamb Garden to train to protect her. It was just starting then. One day, about two years after I had started my training, I was walking in the hallways and overheard the Headmaster discussing the true purpose of Garden; to kill all Sorceresses." He suddenly turned his gray eyes on Seifer, pinning him in place. "I loved Thyriss, even then. I couldn't let that happen. I left that same hour, returned home to Thyriss and vowed to protect her at any cost. So we came up with this plan. Destroy Garden before they could destroy us."

Seifer felt a chill down his spine. He saw in Ormis' eyes what Matron had seen in Thyriss last night; the eyes of a fanatic.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Quistis shaded her eyes as the Ragnorok took off. The wind blast hit her full force and whipped her hair back from her face. For this mission, Quistis had shed her uniform and was dressed in her old peach outfit. Fuujin and Raijin also dressed in outfits similar to what they had worn years ago.

"Come." Fuujin called. She was pointing off in the direction away from the Ragnorok. "Village."

Quistis turned her attention back to the younger woman. She nodded and started walking in the direction Fuujin had pointed. She kept her whip near at hand. The plains of Esthar had been dangerous last time she had been here and she doubted it had changed in the intervening years.

Fuujin took point through the hot sun, one hand on her missile blade. At her hip was the paper map that Squall had handed them before they left. The map indicated several small villages on the Southern tip of Esthar. Any one of them could have information about the mysterious Sorceress.

Raijin followed Quistis, his staff used as support across the dry ground. Quistis had the feeling that he would have the most energy left of all of them at the end of the day.

As they walked, Quistis grew hot. The landscape was mostly unchanging. If she hadn't seen the map for herself, Quistis would not have believed that there were any villages out here. Her skin itched where her sweat had dried and more seat poured into her eyes. Her scalp was soaked through and her hair was plastered to her head. Even with her hair pulled up off of her neck, it was near intolerable.

Why was she out here? She could have been back in Balamb, enjoying a cool classroom or her nice quiet office. Right, Seifer. Quistis couldn't get rid of the pit in the bottom of her stomach when she thought Seifer might be lost, tortured, or...Hyne only knew.

"Fuujin!" Raijin's voice called from behind Quistis.

Quistis turned along with Fuujin. A Marlboro was quickly approaching from the rear. Quistis shared a glance with Fuujin and prepared herself for the onslaught.

"Advice?" Fuujin asked.

"You've fought these more than us, ya know," Raijin added, falling into line next to Quistis.

"Avoid their breath. Its deadly," Quistis said. She didn't have time for more before the creature was on them.

Quistis was impressed at the teamwork Fuujin and Raijin exhibited. Fuujin let fly a brilliant fire spell. While the creature was putting out its flames, Raijin attacked it physically, whacking it a few good times with his staff.

Quistis knew her whip was best used as a distraction, so when the Marlboro turned to Raijin, she let her whip fly and land on one of the Marlboro's tentacles. The creature turned its attention to her just as Fuujin let another fire spell go. The trio repeated this process several more times before the Marlboro finally fell.

When the monster was dead at their feet, Raijin leaned on his staff. "Let's take a water break, Fuu," he suggested. "I'm beat, ya know."

Fuujin nodded and uncorked the bottle she carried next to the map. She sipped from it carefully. Raijin slumped down onto the ground, uncorked his bottle and poured it quickly into his mouth, missing most of it and getting the ground near him wet.

"Careful, Raijin," Quistis cautioned as she pulled her own bottle up. "We might have a hard time finding water out here." The water was lukewarm but it was better than nothing.

Raijin sighed and closed his bottle. "Right."

Fuujin offered her hand and pulled Raijin to his feet. "Let's go." She started walking again.

Quistis stifled her sigh. She could have used a couple more minutes herself, but she supposed that it was better to keep moving. Raijin clapped her on the shoulder. "Fuujin's a tough one, ya know," he said. "But she's worried sick about Seifer. That's why we're moving so hard."

Quistis nodded. She could understand that sentiment. That was the reason she was out her baking in the sun instead of nice and cool in her office. Seifer.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Sorceress looked out over the snowy ground, her black hair flying in the wind and sighed. The Shumi had not been as helpful as she had hoped. They didn't know any more about Sorceress powers than anyone else seemed to. It looked like she would have to travel to Esthar and the research being done there. But Esthar meant Laguna and Ellone and Rinoa wasn't quite sure she could face them yet.

"Ms. Heartilly?"

Rinoa pulled her attention from the snowy landscape to the small man who had appeared next to her. Beyond him, she could see the plush interior of Trabia Garden and feel the warmth coming from inside the tower she standing on. "Yes, Mika?"

"Its rather cold out and you've been here for quite awhile." Mika stepped up next to Rinoa and looked out over the balcony. "Was there something interesting in the mountains?"

Rinoa shook her head. "No. I was just...thinking." Rinoa turned her attention to the ocean. To the west, the sun was just sinking, making the Garden's shadow reach almost to the shore.

"I understand you are leaving shortly?" Mika would probably be glad to have her gone. He had allowed her to stay both before and after her visit with the Shumi as a favor to her father. Rinoa wrinkled her nose at the thought; would she ever stop relying on her father for help?

"Yes. Most likely tomorrow or the day after." As soon as she decided where to go. Esthar. She knew that was the only place to get answers. And truthfully, neither Ellone nor Laguna would hold her decision to leave Squall against her. But that just made it worse.

Something moving on the horizon over the ocean caught Rinoa's attention. "What's that?" she asked, pointing.

Mika shaded his eyes and glanced in the direction where Rinoa was pointing. "I can't tell...looks like it might be..." Mika trailed off.

Rinoa turned to look at the headmaster of Trabia Garden. The man had paled considerably, his black beard a sharp contrast to his face.

"I never asked, Ms. Heartilly, but are you the same young woman who travelled with Commander Leonhart when he was here several years ago?" Despite his appearance, his voice was calm.

Rinoa nodded, wondering what that had to do with anything. "Yes, I'm that one."

"Then I need you to do me a favor. On the lower level of this Garden there is a single man, or woman, boat. I need you leave immediately and take the boat to Balamb Garden with a message for Commander Leonhart."

Rinoa suddenly felt the cold seep into her bones. Commander Leonhart? So Squall was back at Balamb? "What is the message?"

"That Trabia Garden is under attack by the Sorceress and is has most likely fallen."

Rinoa's eyes widened. Part of her wanted to stay and offer to help fight. But they didn't know she was a Sorceress and Rinoa wasn't ready to reveal that yet. Another part of her wanted to asked for clarification, but this wasn't the time. She could do that when she got to Balamb. Squall would fill her in.

Rinoa nodded once and left to take the ship and deliver the message to Squall. Perhaps she would handle everything better this time.


	7. Chapter 6 Attack

_A/N: This one was tough to write. Too many fight scenes for my taste. Well, things may slow down next chapter. Hopefully. _

Chapter 6- Attack

Selphie was feeling queasy. The eggs looked too greasy for her and the bacon just looked...gross. The orange juice she had sipped on earlier was playing havoc with her stomach. This was going to be another rough morning, she could tell. Didn't Dr. Kadowaki mention her morning sickness getting better after the first three months?

"Are you alright, Selphie?" Ellone's gentle question startled Selphie out of her thoughts.

Immediately Selphie put on a large grin. "Fine, Sis," she said. She took a bit of eggs and chewed slowly. It was easier that way.

"If you're not hungry," Laguna said, "you don't have to eat. I remember when Raine was sick...well, I thought she was sick but turns out she was..."

"Uncle Laguna," Ellone said. Selphie could hear her gentle chuckle. "Your rambling won't make Selphie feel better."

Selphie took a deep breath and put her fork down. She sat back in the chair and stretched a little. The president's dining room was large and rather too formal for Selphie's taste. The carpet underneath her feet was a deep blue. The table was long, though the three of them were only taking a portion near the top. Crystal chandeliers dangled across the middle of the table and paintings of famous people lined the walls.

Truthfully, Selphie could have used more sleep. Flying half-way around the world apparently played havoc with her ability to get a good night's rest. Well, that and Irvine had arrived only late last night. Or early this morning. Selphie wasn't sure exactly what time it had been. But, the best way for Selphie to get back on schedule was to get up and moving. It would also take her mind off of her morning sickness as well.

Selphie resolutely reached for the basket of toast. She selected two pieces to nibble on while Laguna and Ellone finished their breakfast.

"How's Squall settling in as Commander?" Laguna asked between bites. "We didn't have time to catch up yesterday before my meetings."

Selphie decided that the toast was much more suited her this morning. "Squall's doing fine," she said. "Its almost as if he never left." He was still furious about Zell though. But that shouldn't be mentioned to Esthar's president, even if he was Squall's father.

"Good," Ellone said. "Uncle Laguna and I were worried after Rinoa left. The move to Winhill was so sudden and so unlike him."

Selphie nodded her agreement. "He seems to be fine now, though."

"Its Squall. There's probably a lot we're both not seeing," Ellone reminded Selphie.

"If he didn't shut everyone out then we'd be able to see more," Selphie said. "And then we could help. Break-ups suck and no one should have to handle them alone."

"Especially not with everything that Squall's been through," Ellone added.

"Girls," Laguna cut in, "if Squall was going to confide in you, he would have done so. Leave him be. When and if he wants to talk, he will. Accept him for who he is. I think that was Rinoa's mistake." From Laguna, that was a rather astute observation.

Selphie finished her toast. She knew she was still hungry but her stomach protested the thought of anything else. By lunch she would starving. Lagune and Ellone had also finished eating. "If you'll excuse me, Lagune, I should get started on those reports Squall wanted me to look at."

Laguna nodded. He stood up. "Sure thing. I'll take you to your office. Its next to Kiross'. He seemed to think that if he wasn't close, I'd forget to fill you in on information. Need anything today, Elle?"

Ellone shook her head. She seemed amused by something. "I'm fine. I'll keep myself busy until Irvine wakes up. Then I'll send him your way, Selphie." As she spoke, Laguna was already heading towards the door.

Selphie nodded and ran a little to catch up to Laguna. The dining room door swung shut behind her. The hallway was similar the others in the Presidential Residence. When she had arrived yesterday, Laguna himself, along with Kiross and Ward, had been waiting for her at the airport. They had escorted her back to the suite in the Residence that she was sharing with Irvine before running off to a meeting.

Upon exiting the dining room, Laguna turned in the opposite direction from Selphie's suite. Selphie followed obediently and quietly.

"Still not feeling well, eh?" Laguna asked.

Selphie smiled as she caught up to the President. They passed two aides who quickly moved aside for them. "Mostly tired," she said.

"Long flights will do that," Laguna said. They walked a little farther before stopping across from Kiross' office. Selphie saw that the nameplate on the door had been covered with masking tape. The tape had the words SeeD office written on it. Selphie had to giggle at the low-tech solution.

"Here' the office and, like I said before, Kiross is just next door if you need anything. I think the most recent reports are on your desk, but we haven't learned much since I spoke to Squall yesterday."

"Thanks, Laguna. I appreciate it and I know Squall does as well." Selphie opened up the door to go inside. Laguna may act like he doesn't have a care in the world, but he was a busy man.

"One last thing, Selphie," Laguna said.

"Oh?" The office was a simple one with a solid wood desk, green carpet, and a beautiful bookshelf.

"If you hear anything from the SeeDs investigating Southern Esthar, make sure you tell me right after you report in to Squall, right?" Laguna smiled at her as he left the office.

Selphie laughed to herself as she took her seat. Squall usually underestimated Laguna but she would remember Laguna was much sharper than he acted.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Seifer clenched his jaw so tight it hurt. His hand clutched his gunblade, though he knew there was nothing he could do.

Fortunately for him, Ormis mistook his agitation as concern for the Sorceress standing near them on the desk of the ship. "Thyriss has done this many times, Seifer," Ormis said.

Seifer forced his hand away from his gunblade. He stared out over the water and tried very hard to not see the giant yellow Garden in front of him. "I know, she'll be fine."

Thyriss was standing straight up, her hands were open in a small ball in front of her, eyes closed, deep in a spell. Somehow, the rocking of the ship did not distract her. The dawn was just breaking over the water behind Seifer and he could see the beginnings of life on the shoreline.

No, not life. Death. If Seifer wasn't mistaken, those were soldiers mobilizing.

"You see their weapons? Missiles?" Ormis asked, his voice low and soft.

Seifer nodded. "They could hit us from here," he said.

"Not quite, Seifer," Matron said. She placed a hand on Seifer's right arm, most likely to stop him from pulling his blade before the battle could start.

"I'm surprised you didn't want to help, Thyriss, Sorceress Edea." Ormis' voice was neutral.

Seifer bit back a snarl at the implied insult.

"I do not know what spell she using, Ormis," Matron said calmly. She dug her nails into Seifer's arm to restrain him. "And the eve of battle is not time to experiment or those missile might actually be a danger to us."

Ormis seemed satisfied with Matron's answer just as Thyriss had been. Seifer could only hope they never found out that Matron had given her Sorceress powers to Rinoa years ago.

A soft violet glow started between Thyriss' hands. It started so faint that Seifer thought he was imagining it at first. But slowly, the glow grew in strength and size. Soon, it was encompassing the entire bodies of the woman. In one sudden, sweeping movement, Thyrsis flung her hands towards Trabia Garden on the shore. The glow fled from her body and headed towards the Garden.

Thyriss collapsed as though a string holding her up had been cut. Ormis caught her moments before she hit the ground. The slim Knight helped his Sorceress back to her feet.

The purple glow hit the first wave of Trabian SeeD. It appeared that nothing had changed. As it did so, Ormis shouted for the Sorceress' ships to move forward at top speed. Once he was certain that Thyriss was stable, Ormis moved climbed to the top of the ship's mast to give orders from there.

They were close enough that the Trabians should be fired their missiles. They must have tried, but nothing happened. Seifer could see the troops scurrying over to their launchers trying to determine what was wrong.

"A clever plan, Thyriss," Matron said. "An excellent way to bring Trabia to its knees with a minimal loss of life."

"Minimal loss of life?" Thyriss asked. "My soldiers were never in danger."

"I meant to the students in the Garden."

"Students who were being trained to kill us both, Edea." Thyriss' voice suddenly had a hard sound.

"You truly still intend to slaughter everyone we find?"

"I will not allow murderers to live unpunished."

Matron seemed at a loss for words. The ships fired their own missiles. Barrier spells went up to defend but the barrage from the ships continued. Soon, they would be close enough to land. And then the Trabians would find that even their guns had been rendered ineffective by Thyriss' spell. The entire Garden was theirs for the taking.

The sound of missiles hitting bodies and machines punctuated the air. There was a cheer from the soldiers on Seifer's ship when one of the missiles destroyed of the Trabian missile launchers.

Seifer felt sick. Even at his worst while serving under Sorceress Edea, he had never done anything like this. "They might not know," he said. Seifer kept his eyes trained on the beach ahead.

Smoke was starting to rise from the beach in front of him. Some of the men and women on the beach were no longer moving.

Thyriss turned to look at him, her brown eyes puzzled. Seifer met them. "What do you mean?" she asked.

They were close enough now that the missiles could reach the Garden proper. The first few fell useless agains the Garden's Barriers but Seifer could tell by the roar of victory from the ship and the loud bang when the barrier spell protecting the Garden gave out.

"Ormis told me that he only overheard Cid talking about the plan," Seifer said. "The vast majority of your army didn't know until you told them about it yourself. The people here didn't know what Cid intended when he created the Gardens. Is it fair to kill them before they have a chance to know why they're being killed?" Seifer's mouth felt dry. Perhaps, maybe, he could save some of the people there.

Thyriss considered his words. "You have a point. Ormis and I will adjust the plan accordingly. We'll make an announcement. Any who surrender peacefully will be spared and will be given the chance to join our army. Any who resist will be killed." As Thyriss spoke, her voice took on a large, booming sound, as though she had a microphone in her hand. Seifer was close enough to see the reactions of the SeeD on the shore. Some of them threw down their weapons, others held them more tightly.

The ships were close enough that they could not come any closer. From above him, Ormis ordered the land assault on Garden to begin. Seifer looked at Matron who nodded once. Then he gripped his gunblade and leapt overboard with the other soldiers. With luck, he could find the youngest of the students and convince them to surrender before any others found them.

The air was thick with the smoke and screams of the battle raging around him.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Zell's back cracked and popped as he stretched it. The great thing about coming back from a mission was the downtime he had afterward.

The sky was just starting to turn grey with the upcoming evening. Zell had slept in late, had a slow, leisurely lunch, and then headed outside for a lovely stroll through the Balamb countryside. Tomorrow he might go visit his mother, but today was for him. It was shame Selphie had flown off in a hurry early this morning before he had a chance to catch up with her. But, this War was serious business and Zell had to approve of Leonhart's decision to send Selphie somewhere safe. He supposed the Commander wasn't too bad after all.

With a huge yawn, Zell started the walk back to the Garden. It was a quiet and still evening.

Too quiet. Zell paused. He had encountered no monsters today. And even now Zell couldn't hear the sound of normal bugs that inevitably ruined a warm summer's evening.

Just like the Behemoth had attacked him and Rena on the way from Galbadia.

Cursing, Zell broke into a run towards the Garden. The Garden was situated on an open field. No monsters could sneak up unawares on the giant building. Still, Zell didn't slow down until he had the gates in sight. Even then, the hair on the back of his neck stood up.

Rena met him by the gates. Zell had promised to meet her for dinner so they could go over the official report. "You're late, Zell!" she called, waving her arms.

Zell didn't have time to respond before a loud crash caught his attention. Zell whirled. Out of the forest lumbered three...no five iron giants. Zell cursed. "Go get the Commander," he told Rena.

The blond girl nodded and ran inside. Zell took a deep breath and readied a lightning spell. The giants were extra susceptible to thunder magic. They were also slow moving. Zell thought about engaging them away from the Garden but not by himself.

As the giants edged nearer, Zell could see the swath of destruction they left in their wake. He cracked his knuckles. It had been a long time since Zell had fought something of this magnitude.

Several other bodies appeared near Zell. Leonhart was calling out orders and several teams of older students organized themselves into attack groups. Xu was leading one team, Nida another, and two other more experienced SeeDs the last two.

Zell turned to the Commander. "You realize you have four teams for five giants," he said.

Squall nodded. "We can handle the last one by ourselves." His gunblade was in his right hand. "Ready?" he asked.

Zell nodded. Leonhart gave the signal and the five groups rushed towards the giants.

Leonhart was in front of Zell and reached the creature first. In spite of himself, Zell was impressed by the grace that Leonhart exhibited with his gunblade. He was never in one moment for long; dodging the wide, slow swings of the oversized sword. Squall had landed several quick blows against the creature before Zell was in casting range.

Although Zell normally preferred to be up front in the fight, he could see that Leonhart had this part of the battle well in hand, so he let loose his first thunder spell. The spell hit the monster full force, momentarily stumbling the brute. Leonhart didn't waste a moment and attacked the creature, pulling back just as it regained itself and swung at him. While the monster was distracted by Leonhart, Zell launched himself at the giant and landed a punch full force on its chest. The creature shuddered under the blow and Zell jumped back before it could recover. As Zell landed, he felt the zing of another thunder spell go past him to his the creature dead on. Leonhart followed up the spell with another slash of his gunblade. Once Zell was on the ground, he launched himself forward again to deliver the killing blow to the monster.

As the Iron Giant crumbled, Zell jumped back to observe his work. Leonhart was looking over the other battles. The SeeDs and students were winning easily but slowly. Iron Giants were tough to take down. Zell was honestly surprised at how easily Leonhart and he had handled theirs.

Zell looked off to the right. He squinted. In the distance, towards Balamb, he saw tiny flashes of red. "Squall!" he called, pointing towards the town.

Leonhart turned towards him. "Zell, what did you just..." he stopped dead.

"My mother's there!" Zell called as he raced off towards the town full speed.

Zell heard Squall call something behind him. Zell didn't turn around to wait. It didn't take long before he was at the outskirts of the town. Even from this vantage point, it was easy to see what was causing the fire. Several dozen ruby dragons had descended upon the town and were setting it ablaze. Citizens were fleeing away from Zell and towards the water.

Zell stopped. This was too much for him alone.

Leonhart stopped beside him. "We need backup for this, Zell," he said. "Xu will be here as soon as she can..."

"Fuck that!" Zell snarled. "My ma might be hurt!"

"Zell, we can't take them by ourselves!"

Zell didn't wait for Leonhart to finish his statement, but threw himself ahead into the fray. He punched the first dragon he saw but was quickly overwhelmed by several others. Dimly, he was aware that Leonhart wasn't far behind him.

He was right though. The two of them couldn't take on this many monsters by themselves. But a dragon could fight a dragon. And the king of dragons.

Zell summoned up Bahamut within him. The Gaurdian Force awoke with a roar inside Zell's head that threatened to shatter it. Zell momentarily lost his focus in the rush of power as the Dragon King took control.

Zell directed the fury towards the ruby dragons. It didn't take long. Bahamut had been kept on a leash inside Zell's mind for too long. He was awake now, and in control. Zell felt Bahamut's joyful rage each time an enemy perished. Every nerve in Zell's mind cried out for more destruction, more energy, more power.

When the last dragon was dead at Bahamut's feet, Zell pulled on Bahamut's mind to reassert his control.

Like always, Bahamut resisted. This time, however, Zell couldn't even get a handhold on the Dragon's mind. Instead, Bahamut pulled on his, absorbing Zell and bending him to his will. Inside his mind, Zell scrambled for control. He panicked and that was all Bahamut needed to assert itself fully.

The dragon looked for its next target and found it in the form of young, brown-haired man on the ground in front of him.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Squall stepped back from Bahamut's glare. Where the hell was Zell right now? He should have reasserted control and...

Unless he had lost control. Hyne only knew how powerful the Guardian Forces could grow. When Squall had off-loaded Shiva and the rest, they had been significantly more powerful than when he had first junctioned them. If Zell had remained junctioned this entire time.

By the time Bahamut lunged for Squall, Squall had already determined he was in trouble. Squall barely had time to dodge out of the way of Bahamut's claw before the dragon was charging its megaflare. Squall called up his strongest shielding spell just as Bahamut's attack hit him full force. The shield broke halfway through the onslaught. Squall felt the megaflare rip through his clothes and burn his skin. Squall collapsed to the ground, broken and charred as Bahamut's claw lifted him into the air and threw him several feet.

Squall landed heavily. Something felt broken. But deep inside was the rush of power he had not felt for ages. Squall pushed himself to his feet and prepared himself to launch an all-out attack against Bahamut. Hopefully, Zell wouldn't be injured in the process.

Squall ran towards Bahamut, his gunblade swinging up as he went. He summoned forth every last bit of strength he had and launched into Lionheart Attack. If this failed...

Not giving himself time to think or doubt, Squall executed the attack perfectly, collapsing to his knees when it was done. Bahamut was laying on the ground. Darkness swam in front of Squall as he leaned forward onto his hand, every bone in his body aching. He would not succumb to unconsciousness yet. He had to know. Slowly, Bahamut disappeared leaving Zell's broken body in its place. Painfully, Squall crawled towards Zell. The boy was breathing, although he appeared to be quite unconscious. His body bore the marks of Squall's attack and Hyne only knew what Bahamut had done to his mind.

But all of that could wait. Zell was alive.

With that thought in mind, Squall allowed the darkness to claim him as he fell unconscious onto the hard, smoking ground.


	8. Chapter 7 Aftermath

_A/N_:_ So, my lovely sister pointed out that my canon-changing might need to be explained a little, lest anyone believe that I was making up the rules of the story as I went. First, yes, I know that in the game, the only way a character can use magic is by junctioning a GF, which is not allowed in my post-game world. However, I also know that I have fought several normal Galbadian soldiers who have used magic on me. Therefore, my characters can use magic without a GF, although not as well or as quickly or powerfully as with one. And what makes Sorceress unique? They are much more powerful and not limited to the set number of spells that non-Sorceresses are and can create their own special spells, such as Thyriss and her anti-technology purple bubble (yes, that's the patented title by the way). _

_Yes, Squall and company are much stronger physically than they were in game, especially without GFs equipped. To compensate, Zell's use of GFs make him proportionally much stronger (I mean, several dozen Ruby Dragons? They kicked my ass several times, even fully leveled with the best GFs in the game.) _

_And finally, yes, I know that Ormis added an 'r' to the middle of his name between chapters. We had a nice long chat about that he decided he liked the 'r', so he's keeping it. He did lose one from his last name (Sedra) to compensate however. Can't let him get his way all the time. _

_So, sorry for the long note, but I just wanted to explain my rather random decisions regarding how I was messing with the gameplay canon._

_Also, please note, I changed the summary and upped the rating. I also officially acknowledged that Seifer is somehow a main character, although my pairing of Squall/Zell (and the reason for writing this story) still exists. _

Chapter 7- Aftermath

Zell screamed, his voice rough and ragged. His back arched painfully off of the bed. Dr. Kadowaki glanced over from the machine she was using but remained where she was, fiddling with the device. She looked exhausted.

From the corner of his eye, Squall saw Xu wince. Good. if she had forced Zell to follow his orders in the first place, Dr. Kadowaki would not be extracting the GFs from Zell's weakened body now. From the screams, each GF was embedded deep within Zell's consciousness and pulling them out was a nightmare.

Squall could only hope that it wouldn't do any lasting damage to the blond. But the alternative was to wait until Zell regained consciousness and forbade them to remove the creatures. Or succumbed to them again. Squall could not allow the Garden to be put at risk. Not now, with Trabia silent for almost a day.

"Commander," Xu said. She was cut off by another one of Zell's screams. Her brown eyes widened as she stared at the door.

This wasn't just her fault. Squall should have made sure that Zell had given up his GFs before leaving for Deling City with Rinoa. But he had been so busy with planning the move that he had forgotten to make sure Zell had followed orders. Then again, it had never occurred to him that Zell would disobey something he knew was important. Hell, if Squall remembered correctly, and he was these days, the ban on GF use had been Zell's idea in the first place.

"Commander," Xu said, her voice shaky over Zell's screams.

Squall kept his face impassive as he turned his attention away from the observation room to Xu. "What?" he asked. Zell's screams stopped again as the next GF was pulled completely from his mind.

Xu held a file folder out in front of her. "We have work to do. Balamb has asked us for help rebuilding. Especially since the vast majority of the damage was caused by..." Xu trailed off to stare through the window.

Squall followed her eyes. When not in the throes of agony, Zell looked rather small and pale through the glass. "We'll help when we can. We have the Sorceress to consider." He turned back to Xu. "Did you locate Mrs. Dincht?" Technically, she was one who was able to give authorization for the removal of the Guardian Forces from Zell. Damn technicalities that Squall didn't have time to wait on.

Xu looked to the right. Zell started screaming again, though more ragged this time, as though his voice might give out at any moment. He couldn't have many more GFs inside of him. They had to be almost done.

Xu nodded. "We located her body. She threw herself in front of a Ruby Dragon while some children made it to safety." Damn. But at least it hadn't been Zell's actions...

Zell's screams died out again. Squall turned his attention back to the room. Dr. Kadowaki stood up from the device and went to check Zell. She fussed over him for a few minutes before coming to the door and opening it.

"All Guardian Forces have been removed," the Doctor said. She sounded as tired as Squall felt. "I was as careful as I could be. Hopefully we avoided any permanent damage. I'm going to take a breather and get some food; he's in no immediate danger. You are more then welcome to sit in with him, if you like Commander."

Squall nodded. "Thank you, Dr," he said.

Kadowaki sighed heavily and left the infirmary. Squall headed to the door.

"Commander," Xu tried again. "We have work to do."

Squall turned his best ice-cold glare on her. "You're the Acting Commander," he reminded the woman. "So, act."

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"Well, what we do we do with the children?" Ormis asked Thyriss, his eyes glued to the children sleeping in the hall.

Seifer lounged near them, resting his gunblade on his knees. Matron stood near, giving a warning look in Seifer's direction. Seifer didn't need the look. Whatever Thyriss was, it wasn't a cold blooded killer. She would spare the children.

It had taken several days for the... remains of Trabia garden to be … cleaned up. It was easier if Seifer didn't think about what exactly he was hiding behind those euphemisms. Every SeeD had fought to the last and several of the older students as well. Seifer was pretty damn sure that the kids he was watching would have been killed had he not been the first of Thyriss' army to get to them. He had moved them to a quiet classroom, well away from the worst of the fighting. The oldest had to be younger than ten. When Thyriss' men had found them, Seifer told them that they had surrendered peacefully. Well, what the fuck else did they expect kids to do?

"We'll decide that after the execution," Thyriss replied. She walked over to the sleeping children and knelt down beside them. "They are adorable though," she said. "Edea?" Thyriss straightened up.

"Yes, Thyriss?"

"You were running an orphanage in Centra, right?"

Matron nodded. "I was. I had been for many years before the Second Sorceress War as well."

"Yes. I thought so. What you recommend we do with them?"

"For those that have families, I would find them and send them there. For the others...I would find a safe place for them. I hear Shumi village is not too far. Perhaps they would be willing to take in the refugees, at least in the short-term."

"We don't have time for that," Ormis said.

"No, but we can send them back to our place," Thyriss said. "At least until the War is over."

Seifer exchanged glances with Matron. Thyriss and Ormis had never mentioned a 'place' before. What in the world...

"Thyriss, I'm afraid I don't understand...what are you talking about?" Matron asked.

"My home village. They can go live there until after the War." Thyriss smiled. "Oh, Edea. You're wondering how I can possibly get them safely back to my home. It such a shame you never experimented with your powers the way I have. There is so much I could teach you. I'll show you when we're finished here."

"Thyriss, we need to take care of MIka." Ormis seemed rather impatient to have this over and done with.

Thyriss sighed. "If he had surrendered peacefully, this wouldn't be necessary." She turned and left the small classroom, Ormis trailing along behind her.

Matron turned to follow. "I think you better put in a good showing with us," she told Seifer.

Seifer looked at the kids. He was reluctant to leave them. He didn't trust Thyriss' army.

The door to the classroom opened again. One of the soldiers in Thyriss' blue and black uniform appeared. He had rather non-descript brown hair and eyes. He carried a gun that wasn't too different from what the other soldiers carried. Once the door was safely closed behind him, however, the man turned to Seifer and saluted with the SeeD salute. "Almassy, sir."

Seifer stood up. "Do I know you?" he asked. This could possibly be some trick of Thyriss', although she didn't seem the type. Ormis however...

"No, sir. At least, I hope not." The man put his arm down. "Radomil Adler. I'm one of Xu's special agents. You probably haven't heard of me."

Seifer hadn't heard of him. That didn't mean he wasn't telling the truth."So?" he asked.

"Just wanted to let you know that I'm around should you need anything, sir," Adler said. "And I can keep an eye on the kids while you run off to enjoy the execution."

"We better go quickly, before Thyriss notices our absence," Matron said. "Thank you, Adler."

Seifer nodded to the man and followed Matron out of the classroom. The hallways were near deserted except for a few of Thyriss' men. Most would be attending the execution.

Outside the crowds were thicker. The smell of burning bodies filled the air. The sun was bright but did little to warm Trabia's frigid air, even in the heat of summer. Seifer and Matron made their way through the thickest part of the crowds. Thyriss soldiers made room for the duo until they reached the edge of the crowd. The army had erected a small wooden platform in the center of Trabia's courtyard. Thyriss and Ormis stood on the platform alongside Mika who was held by two of Thyriss' soldiers.

"...deny it?" Thyriss was asking the headmaster.

"I do deny it, Sorceress," Mika said. His glasses were missing and his left eye was swollen shut. Although the guards were to either side of him, Mika stood on his own, although Seifer could see that he was favoring his right leg. Several scratches covered the man's arms and face.

"You dare deny that the purpose of Garden is to destroy me?" Thyriss asked, her voice rising slightly shrill.

"The purpose of Garden is to produce soldiers for war. Nothing more, nothing less," Mika said.

"You lie!" Seifer was a little shocked at the change that had come over the normally friendly and even-tempered Sorceress. Her face was red, her eyes wide. Trabia's cold wind blew her hair around her in a frenzy, making her look more than a little wild.

Matron clutched Seifer's arm. Around them, the crowd roared with anger, echoing their Sorceress' rage. "She can't allow herself to believe that she is wrong," Matron whispered against Seifer's ear. "If she realizes that Garden was never meant to kill her, then she just slaughtered hundreds of innocents."

Seifer nodded.

"I do not lie!" Mika said. "I spoke only the truth. You made us your enemy Sorceress. Not us. You created your army, you led it here, and you have destroyed this Garden to feed your own delusions!"

"Enough! You are clearly guilty of attempted murder and have not repented!" Thyriss lifted her arms. As she did so, Mika burst into flames. The only mercy was that they burned so hot, he didn't have long to suffer before he collapsed into a heap on the wooden platform. Thyriss' soldiers cheered. Shouts of Thyriss and Sorceress filled the air.

Thyriss lowered her arms. Ormis touched her on the shoulder but the red-headed woman shrugged him off and walked down from the makeshift stage. The crowd parted to let Thyriss pass throught them unhindered.

Ormis followed his Sorceress down. He motioned for Matron and Seifer to follow him out of the crowds. "As soon as Thyriss has recovered, we will send the children back to safety," he told them as soon as they were away from the throng of soldiers. "Make sure they're ready to go."

"We'll take care of it," Matron said. She touched Seifer gently on the elbow and led him back to the classroom to help him get the children ready to move.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Fuujin, Raijin, and Quistis walked into the fifth small town in as many days. Like the others, it was filled with small brick houses and neat lawns. The roads were laid out so they all led to the town square which was dominated by the large inn. Unlike the vast majority of towns that Quistis had seen, instead of a fountain or park to mark the center, there was an egg shaped statue with what looked like a key shaped hole in the center.

However, apart from the bizarre statue, Quistis had the feeling it would be just as useless to them. If anyone had heard anything about a Sorceress in Southern Esthar, they weren't sharing that information with three travellers.

Fuujin stopped in the center of the town square and looked up at the sky. "Late," she said. The sun was slowly startings its lazy descent into the west and Quistis could feel the first of the night breezes play though the town.

Raijin put the end of his staff down on the ground with a solid thud. "Yeah, it is. We should stay the night here, ya know."

"We can investigate in the morning," Quistis added. "Not that we'll find much."

Before the words were out of Quistis' mouth, a black disk appeared in the center of the square, less than two feet from where Fuujin was standing. Fuujin jumped back into Raijin's arms. Quistis stepped back a little more gracefully, although not much.

Through the disk stepped a slim, brown-haired man with a large staff. He was followed by a group of ten to fifteen children, none older than ten. The children looked frightened and clutched at each other as though they had nothing else left.

"Sorceress," Fuujin said softly.

Quistis nodded. She looked at her commander with a raised eyebrow. "We do we do?"

"Wait, watch." Which was exactly what Quistis would have recommended herself.

After the children came several dozen soldiers. By this time, a crowd had gathered in the town square, almost eclipsing Quistis' view of the events.

Next were two very familiar figures. Quistis felt her heart skip a beat when she saw the familiar flash of red-gold hair. He was safe and in one piece. And, from the look of it, neither he nor Edea were prisoners. Beside Quistis, she felt Raijin tense, as though he was going to call out to Seifer. Before he could however, Quistis heard the familiar sound of Fuujin's boot on Raijin's legs."Silence." she said sharply.

The soldiers had arrayed themselves in formation and stood ready to receive orders. The man with the staff and the children were off to the side.

Finally, a red-haired woman left the disk. As she stepped fully into the town, the black circle snapped closed behind her. The crowd around Quistis stilled, as though they were waiting for the Sorceress to speak.

"We have won our first victory against Trabia Garden!" the woman announced. Quistis suspected she was using magic to enhance her voice because she was able to hear it clearly, even halfway through crowd as she was. "The losses on our side were few. Along the way, I found two new allies; the Sorceress Edea and her Knight Seifer!" The Sorceress paused here as the crowd cheered for her. Once it was quiet again, the woman continued her speech. "I have also returned home the soldiers who saw the worst of the fighting in Trabia, so that they can see their loved ones and enjoy a well-earned respite from the fighting." The Sorceress turned to her soldiers. "You are dismissed, my friends. Enjoy your time with your families and be ready when I next call upon you."

As one, the soldiers saluted, removed their helmets and dispersed into the crowd. There were several moments of joyful reunions before the crowd turned their attention back to the Sorceress.

"And finally, I have here twelve children who were held captive by the Garden and are in need of refuge until after the War when they will either be returned to their own families or found a permanent, loving home. Are there any here who would be willing to give these poor children a place to stay?" Before the words were even out of her mouth, several hands were raised in the crowd, more than enough for each child present. The Sorceress called several families forward and presented them with a child. Quistis was marginally surprised when Edea leaned over to whisper something in the woman's ear, which made her reconsider a childless family in favor of one who had children. It seemed as though Edea and Seifer were truly allies.

The Sorceress announced that she would be staying in the inn that evening and would leave tomorrow for the town Quistis had just left to collect the soldiers from that there before continuing on her war.

The Sorceress then took the arm of the staff-man and motioned for Seifer and Edea to accompany her into the inn as the crowd dispersed around them. The Sorceress' actions made Quistis reconsider the situation. Edea was no longer a Sorceress, but apparently hadn't shared that fact with the woman in front of them. It was unlikely that Seifer had betrayed the Garden a second time, especially since technically, he hadn't been under his own control the first time. Therefore, the duo was waiting for a way out. Perhaps she, Fuujin, and Raijin could find a way to extract them all before they were whisked away tomorrow. But it would have to be done delicately; they were clearly all in enemy territory.

Fuujin nodded to Quistis and headed towards the inn, followed by Raijin. Quistis took up the rear.

The inn was dark but cool. The Sorceress and her entourage had seated themselves at a table, presumably for dinner. Quistis did her best to look anywhere but at Seifer. It was harder than she had thought it would be.

Fuujin walked over to the bar to speak with the innkeeper while Raijin and Quistis took seats across the room. Then Quistis noticed Seifer was watching them. Damn.

"Something wrong with the travellers, Seifer?" the red-haired woman asked.

Edea turned to glance at Quistis and Raijin.

Fuujin returned. "Rooms and meals for tonight," she said, taking her seat.

"Yeah, something's wrong," Seifer said. Quistis winced. Perhaps she had been wrong and Seifer he had betrayed Garden. No, that couldn't be it. Seifer stood up and walked over to the table. "I'm wondering what the hell took you three so long to find me? I thought I said a week, no more!"

"Friends of yours then, Seifer?" the man asked.

Seifer pulled Quistis to her feet and planted a kiss on her cheek. "Play along, Quistis. She knew something was up with you three the minute she saw you," he whispered. He turned back to the Sorceress, one arm still around Quistis' waste. Quistis did her best not to notice just how comfortable she was there. "Not just friends, Thyriss. My girlfriend and two best friends from Balamb. Fuujin and Raijin worked with Edea last time, right Sorceress?"

Edea nodded. "I thought it was taking you a rather long time to catch up to us."

"The other one tried to kill you, though," the man said. "If I remember correctly." He looked vaguely familiar to Quistis, although she couldn't place him.

"How did they find you? We are nowhere near Centra," the Sorceress asked.

"A spell, Thyriss. Seifer passed it to them when he made the plan to rescue me." Edea's voice was calm as always.

"There was no..." Raijin was cut off as Fuujin kicked him under the table.

"Didn't know," she said to the Sorceress as way of explanation. "Just told him we were finding Seifer."

Thyriss nodded.

"And, as to Quistis' attempt on my life years ago," Edea continued, "she also argued to spare my life. After all, she was only seeking to protect her love from more harm than was necessary."

"Anything I could do to help Seifer," Quistis added. She looked up with what she hoped was a saccharine and loving gaze into Seifer's blue-green eyes. She pushed herself up on tiptoe to give Seifer a kiss.

Seifer glanced down at her, then back to Thyriss. "After dinner, why don't you give me time to catch the three of them up," he said. "Things are a little different than Edea expected."

Thyriss smiled. "Of course." She motioned energetically for the others to join her at the table. "And you'll come eat with me now. Unless, of course, the two of you want to catch up privately." Suddenly, Thyriss frowned. "Edea! I didn't think about the age difference between you two! You should have said you weren't sleeping with your Knight. I would have gladly given you different rooms. The thought didn't occur to me..."

Edea made some comment as Fuujin and Raijin made themselves comfortable at the Sorceress' table. Quistis sat next to Seifer, closer than she would have preferred but still somehow, not close enough.

She couldn't decide if things had just gotten better or worse.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The first thing Zell noticed when he opened his eyes was a pair of very worried blue eyes surrounded by shadows studying his. There was something raw about the way the man was watching Zell; as though Zell had all the power in the world over him.

Zell blinked. The Commander? Why was he watching...and that _look_. Why?

Leonhart blinked and sat back. Whatever Zell had seen a moment ago was gone, replaced with a blank mask.

Zell attempted to say something but the words stuck in throat. It felt as though he had yelled his throat raw. He sat up. Instantly, the Commander handed Zell a glass of water.

"Drink." Leonhart's voice was quiet. He kept one hand on the glass as Zell forced the water down his throat.

Zell pushed the glass away after drinking his fill. "W-what happened?" he asked. His voice sounded like crap.

"You don't remember?" Leonhart asked.

Zell closed his eyes. His head felt strangely empty, as though he was missing something. It was also a little difficult to think. That was most likely from being exhausted still. He hurt everywhere. Most likely from the Ruby Dragons and the … "Bahamut," he said. "I lost control." That was what was missing. He narrowed his eyes at the Commander. "You took my Guardian Forces, didn't you?" He wanted to be angry but after losing control, he would have done the same thing.

Leonhart nodded. "Yes, to all of it."

Zell closed his eyes and thought. "Did I...did I hurt anyone?"

He opened his eyes again to see Leonhart shake his head. "I stopped Bahamut before you could." Leonhart's tone was ice.

The breath Zell hadn't been aware of holding escaped from Zell's chest. "So that's why I feel like shit." Zell was surprised to see a flash of a small smile on Leonhart's face before it vanished. He laid down again. "What about the Ruby Dragons? Did they...how many did they kill before we..."

"Ten."

"There's more, isn't there." Zell didn't know how Leonhart's flat tone was different from his other ones, but somehow it was.

"Your mother was killed by a dragon while she helped others escape."

Zell rolled over, away from the Commander. He wasn't surprised. That was exactly the sort of thing his mother would do. He felt sick. His body hurt, his head felt stuffed full of tissue paper, and throat was raw. He felt more empty than he had in years. At least that he could recall.

Zell felt his eyes burning. He would not cry, not in front of this stranger, who still hadn't gone away. Zell felt the bed shift like someone was sitting down next to him. He closed his eyes and willed Leonhart away. He didn't know what the man wanted, why he looked at him like he did. And he didn't want to know. He wanted to be left alone. Ideally forever.

No, not alone. Alone was what he was now. And it hurt.

Zell felt a hand on his shoulder. It was warm and comforting. Zell thought about shrugging it off, but decided it wasn't worth the effort.

When Leonhart finally moved, Zell tried to ignore how cold his arm felt without the Commander there.


	9. Chapter 8 Departures and Arrivals

Chapter 8- Departures and Arrivals

Zell stoically nodded his thanks for the condolences offered by the couple in front of him. He didn't trust himself to speak through the lump in his throat. The one that had been there since they had sent the funeral pyre out to the sea.

The couple mentioned something to the Commander standing near Zell and then walked off. Zell didn't particularly care what they had said. He was too hot. The sun was miserable. He thought that funerals were supposed to take place on rainy days; not days filled with bright afternoon sunlight.

The funeral barge was out of sight by now and the shoreline was finally emptying of the crowd that had gathered for the mass funeral for the ten that had died during the attack.

Zell knew he should turn around and leave. The Commander most likely had work to do back at the Garden; it would be better if he didn't keep the man away too long. After all, the other SeeD attendees, including Xu, had left almost twenty minutes ago.

Then again, Zell hadn't asked Leonhart to keep him company and he certainly wasn't making the man stay. So yeah, Zell was going to be selfish. The Commander could leave at any point.

Leonhart came to stand next to Zell. Zell wished he could summon the energy to send the man away. But, on second thought, that would mean he was alone. He wished Selphie was closer than Esthar. He had talked to her on the phone last night but …

Zell sighed. The pier he was standing on was officially deserted now, except for him and the Commander. He turned to Leonhart. "Ready, Commander?"

This time there was no revealing flash in the Commander's eyes; they stayed the same shade of blue. Zell couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. He would never figure out why if he never saw it again. Selphie would know. But Selphie was in Esthar. Which was why he couldn't talk to her. At least, not for something so trivial like losing your parent. Or a mysterious Commander. Zell was surprised Leonhart had even called Zell up to the office when she had reported in. It did seem rather out of character for the man. "If you are."

Zell nodded and started the slow walk through Balamb. Several buildings had been destroyed and almost none had escaped some sort of damage. But it was all repairable. And the people thanked Zell and Leonhart for coming so quickly to their rescue. They didn't realize how close they had come to complete destruction at Zell's own hands.

Reaching the outskirts of town, the signs of the battle between Bahamut and Leonhart were much more obvious. There was a long stretch of charred earth. Zell stopped to study it. Leonhart stopped as well, never more than a foot from Zell's shoulder. "I never said thanks," Zell said.

"For what?"

"Stopping me. Could have been a lot worse." Zell turned to look at Leonhart. "So, yeah. Thanks."

Leonhart nodded.

"And, yeah, thanks for not reaming me out over keeping the GFs. It was a bad idea, I see that now. And," Zell frowned, the tip of a memory unburrowing itself out of his mind. "If was your idea to make us give them up, right?"

Leonhart raised an eyebrow and nodded again.

"And for some reason, I didn't. So yeah, thanks for not saying 'I told you so'."

A ghost of a smile touch Leonhart's lips. It was, of course, quickly suppressed. Zell was pleased he had gotten even that much.

"So, yeah, on another note," Zell said. Something else had been bothering him. Another memory uncovered. "The Ruby Dragons and Iron Giants aren't the first time we've had monsters appearing where they shouldn't, right?"

Leonhart nodded. "There was the Behemoth you and Cadet Scheer found in Galbadia. I've also been receiving other reports from various locations around the world."

"So, what are we doing about?"

"Nothing for now. Martine and I warned the governments to be on the lookout. We have the Sorceress War."

"What? So we're just going to let monster's rampage villages and do nothing?" Zell threw a couple of punches in the air, pretending it was whoever or whatever was behind these attacks.

Leonhart stepped away out of Zell's range, giving the blond more room to rant. "For all we know right now, its connected to the Sorceress in some way, Zell. The attacks started at about the same time we heard from her and most have been centered around or near a Garden."

Zell stopped throwing punches at the air. "So, we get this Sorceress then, yes?" Made sense. Who knew what a Sorceress could do. Control the monsters that roamed the land? Sure, why not. Zell had seen crazier things.

Again, the ghost of a smile touched Leonhart's lips. "Working on it."

So, if he could get his hands on the Sorceress, he could stop this bullshit from happening again. "And let me guess, you're not sending me anywhere until Dr. K gives the all clear for my head."

"Until we're positive that taking the GFs from you didn't have any negative effects." Leonhart paused. "I'm sorry. I know you want revenge."

The energy he had been holding left Zell. Revenge wouldn't really do anything. It most likely wouldn't even make him feel better. It would just be something to _do_. Anything would be better than hanging around Garden on medical leave with nothing to distract himself. Zell felt the lump rise in his throat again. Damn it. He was _not_ going to cry.

"Why don't you head back to Garden, Commander. I'm sure you've got work to do. I..." Zell looked out to the shoreline. "I think I wanna take a walk on beach."

Leonhart hesitated for a moment. He laid a hand on Zell's shoulder. "Sure thing, Zell. Be careful." He looked like he was going to say something else, but he changed his mind and rather quickly released Zell and started the walk back to Garden.

Zell watched him go torn between wanting to call him back and not wanting anything to do with the strange man.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Seifer closed the door behind him with a soft thud. Only then did he turn to look at Quistis.

"So, what the hell was Squall thinking sending you three after me?" he demanded, tossing his gunblade to the ground and throwing himself onto the bed.

"I believe he was concerned about you," Quistis said.

"Bullshit." Seifer stared at the inn's wooden ceiling. "Squall doesn't give a damn about anyone but that pretty little Sorceress of his." Unfair. Rinoa had ended it with Squall. And, the Commander had agreed to come back to help in this war.

"You know that's not true," Quistis said. Seifer heard her move around the room. "What about you? What are you doing here?"

Seifer sat up, his back aching in protest. "Trying to think of a good way to get out of here."

Quistis had seated herself at the table, the only other furnishing in the small room. She made a non-committal noise as she studied the vase in front of her. "So, what's the plan?"

"Plan? That's Matron's job. Or yours. I'm just doing my best to stop that bitch from killing all of us."

There was an awkward silence in the room. There wasn't really much to say. Seifer lay back on the bed and sighed again. It was going to be a long night and and even longer day tomorrow. "So, why are you here with Fuujin and Raijin?" Seifer asked.

Quistis didn't respond. Seifer sat up. "Don't just ignore me, Trepe," he said.

Quistis shrugged. "I don't have a good reason, Seifer." She stood up suddenly. "We should probably get some sleep before we move on to the next town tomorrow."

"Heh. You mean Squall ordered you because he didn't trust Fuu to stick to the information-gathering part."

Quistis shook her head. "No, Fuujin's in charge. I just...volunteered." She blushed suddenly. "Look, I've been walking all day and I'm beat. We can figure out how to get us all out of here tomorrow. Do you want the bed?" Quistis stood up from her seat and walked over to her bags. She started rummaging through them.

Seifer watched her. "You can take the bed," he said. Damn, he was too gallant for his own good. He was tired of sleeping on floors. "But I'll take my share of the blankets first."

"Fine." Quistis stood up just as Seifer did, leaving them facing each other, almost nose to nose.

Seifer blinked and took a step back, only to have his knees hit the bed. He sat down with a soft huff.

A knock at the door caused both Seifer and Quistis to jump.

"Enter!" Seifer called. He half expected Fuujin or Raijin to walk through the door.

Instead it was Adler. Rather than the Sorceress' uniform, the man was dressed in rather simple village clothes. Once again, the moment the door was closed, the spy saluted. "Almassy, Trepe."

"At ease, Adler," Quistis said.

Seifer looked over at Quistis. "You know him?"

Quistis gave him a blank stare. "I am Xu's second-in-command. Well, was, until Squall showed up." She turned back to Adler. "Xu and I had wondered what you were up to."

"Unable to report in safely, ma'am," Adler said. "In fact, I'm heading out tonight to leave the army and give my reports to Xu. Wanted to let you and Almassy know so that you didn't look for me when you decided to pull out."

"Why now?" Seifer asked. He frowned. "And any way the five of us could escape as well."

"Don't be an idiot, Seifer," Quistis said. "The Sorceress would know you were gone and start looking for you. She knows your from Balamb. Do you really think we could find a way to warn Squall before she attacked?

"You the hell are you calling an idiot?" Seifer asked, standing up.

"You, Seifer," Quistis shot back. "Somehow you got yourself involved in the heart of the Sorceress' army. The correct thing to do when you could board the Valhalla..."

"Don't you dare tell me what the correct thing was!" He advanced on the blond woman. What the hell did she know what he had done over the past several days. Of what he had tried to stop...

Adler cleared this throat.

Seifer turned his glare on Adler who, to his credit, acted as though the outburst hadn't happened.

"I'll let Garden know your position and that you are safe for now. Thyriss didn't happen to mention which Garden was her next target, did she?"

Quistis looked to Seifer. "She didn't, at least not to me," Seifer said. He sat back down and did his best ignore Quistis. "Matron might know."

Adler shook his head. "Too risky to stop by there. Thyriss keeps her close. Like she would be for you except that she's giving you two lovebirds privacy."

Seifer sneered. "Lovebirds, huh? Well, it worked." It was also the only excuse Seifer could think of at the time.

"The closest Garden Operative is Selphie Tilmitt in Esthar," Quistis said. It seemed she was ignoring Seifer as well. Fine, he would gladly take the bed tonight.

Adler nodded. "I'll head there, then. Good luck!" With a final salute, Adler left the room.

The silence lasted for several minutes. Seifer lay back down on the bed. He heard the sound of Quistis rummaging through her bag again. "I need to wash up and change," she announced.

Seifer didn't comment as the woman made her way to the bathroom. Seifer the sound of running water. He stood up and stretched himself out properly on the bed, facing the wall. Why the fuck couldn't he ever seem to make Quistis happy? He thought he had done a pretty good job this time. At least neither he nor Matron were hurt and he had a load of information to give to Squall. If he could ever find a way to get it to him in a timely fashion. Well, Adler knew everything Seifer did; they had chatted in the classroom after making sure the kids were asleep.

So, yeah, Seifer had done a damn fine job of things. Whatever Trepe thought.

The door to the bathroom opened. Seifer smelled the scent of soap and shampoo. It made him very aware that it had been a while since his last shower. Due to the War.

"Seifer?"

Seifer rolled over and sat up. Quistis was dressed in simple purple pants and shirt. She looked lovely. "That shower sounds like a good idea."

"I'm sorry, Seifer," Quistis said.

"Save it, Trepe. I don't really care what you think of me." Seifer ignored Quistis' hurt look as he stood up and went to take his shower.

By the time he had finished, Quistis was asleep on the bed, every single blanket piled neatly on the floor at her feet.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Rinoa stepped off of the boat onto the deserted dock. She knew that Balamb was a small town, but usually there was someone nearby. The air around Rinoa was thick with an impending thunderstorm; maybe that was where all the people went. Hiding inside from the rain.

Rinoa pulled off her jacket to reveal the yellow tank-top underneath. Balamb was a hell of a lot muggier than Trabia had been. She lifted her small bag onto her back and started the walk towards Garden. She would be seeing Squall before the night was out. If he didn't shut the door in her face.

Rinoa twisted her lips at the thought. Things hadn't worked out like they were supposed to. She was pretty sure that Squall would forgive her for her stupidity, but it would take some time and convincing.

There were more people in Balamb once Rinoa left the dock area, although the entire town seemed rather subdued. Many of the houses looked like they hadn't been tended since Rinoa had left.

It didn't take long for Rinoa to leave the town proper. She would have considered renting a car, but the shop looked to be closed. Besides, Rinoa would enjoy the walk.

Glancing at the sky as she left town, Rinoa was not surprised to see the blue sky darkening to gray. When she looked behind her, Rinoa saw flashes of lightening over the water.

Rinoa hurried on her way. A soft breeze tugged at her hair.

In the distance, Rinoa spotted a familiar blond-figure. Zell was dressed rather formally for the hot day. He was watching the lightening in the distance.

"Zell!" Rinoa waved to him as she approached.

When she was closer, Zell frowned. "Sorry, do I know you?" he asked.

Rinoa stopped mid-sentence. "Ummm...what?"

Zell sighed. He glanced out at the lightning again. "Just answer the question. Do I know you?" He sounded irritable, but also tired. Not at all like young, energetic, hyperactive Zell Rinoa remembered.

Rinoa swallowed and tried to find her words. "I'm Rinoa." Zell still didn't look like he recognized her. "Rinoa Heartilly...we fought the..."

"Yeah, yeah, Sorceress War and all that. I remember now." Zell studied Rinoa for a minute. She had the feeling he didn't really remember anything about her. "Huh. You're not a SeeD. I would've thought..." he trailed off. "You're also not as pretty as Selphie said. Well, she also called you a fucking whore, but she never took back the pretty."

Selphie said that? About her? And what did he mean not pretty! Before Rinoa could respond, Zell continued. "I guess you're here to see the Commander. We need to hurry before we get caught in the storm."

Zell started off down the road, leaving Rinoa to follow after him, wondering just what the hell had happened while she had been away.

The walk to the Garden was relatively short but seemed to drag on interminably. Several times Rinoa tried to start up a conversation with Zell only to be greeted with monosyllables that would have made Squall proud or silence.

Eventually Rinoa gave up. She would have said she was just enjoying the scenery but it was far too hot and muggy for that. They reached the shelter of Balamb Garden's walls just as the first real gust of wind blew in along with the first smatters of rain.

Once they were inside the lobby, Zell turned to Rinoa. "You need to see the Commander, right?"

Rinoa nodded.

"They password locked the elevator after … well, for a while now. I have code." Zell turned and walked up the short steps to the elevator. Rinoa followed. "Look, Rinoa. About what I said earlier...its been a rough day. Sorry. I don't know what came over me."

"Its fine, Zell," Rinoa said. The doors to the elevator closed and it started to rise. "You really don't..."

Zell fixed her with a flat stare. "I don't. And there's no point in talking about it."

The elevator arrived at the Commander's office. Rinoa stepped out and let Zell follow her for once. She knocked once, firmly.

"Come in." Squalls' voice sounded just the same as ever. Rinoa felt a sliver of joy at its familiar sound. She pushed open the door.

Squall looked up as she entered. His eyes slid past her to someone behind her. Zell. Then back to her. "Rinoa?" Squall's eyes widened briefly. He stood up. "Why are you here?"

There was little change in his voice. He might have been asking about the weather. Rinoa stifled her disappointment. She had left him, after all. But still, it wasn't her fault he hadn't figured that he was supposed to come after her. "I have a message from Trabia Garden."

"And you didn't say that earlier?" Zell asked. He walked past Rinoa to stand near the table in the center of the room. "Leonhart's been waiting for days for information. Ever since they blacked out."

Squall looked to Zell briefly. "I see you read the reports I left you."

Zell shrugged. "I was bored and it kept my mind off...things."

Squall turned back to Rinoa. "What's the message?"

"Trabia Garden has fallen to the Sorceress. At least, if they hadn't, you would have heard from them now so..." Rinoa trailed off.

"Figures. What now, Commander?" Zell asked. "Want me to run and fetch Xu?"

Squall shook his head. He reached over to the intercom and called Xu up to his office. He turned to Rinoa. "You were at Trabia."

Rinoa nodded. "What Sorceress are we talking about? Not Edea..."

Squall ignored her question. Which was just like him when there was something else he wanted to talk about. "Why didn't you help them?"

"Help them?" Rinoa was taken aback.

"Leonhart, she's one girl. Not even a SeeD, what was she supposed to do?" Zell asked.

"Not just a girl, Zell. She's a Sorceress." Squall crossed his arms and fixed Rinoa with a hard look. "You do realize you just allowed five hundred SeeDs and students to die?"

"I...Mika told me to come here." Rinoa took a step back away from Squall.

"Mika didn't know you were a Sorceress. You might have been able to tip the battle. Given them a fighting chance."

"I didn't want to tell him." Her excuse sounded weak even to her. She took another step back. This was not how she had pictured her reunion with Squall. "I-..." Rinoa wasn't sure what she was going to say, but she turned and ran out of the room, nearly knocking Xu over on the way to elevator. The door to the elevator closed behind her and the machine started it descent. Rinoa sniffed back her tears. Once the doors opened on the first floor, Rinoa started to head towards the exit. She was not staying here...

"All personnel within Balamb Garden, please move to secure location. We are moving in one minute exactly," Xu's calm and collected voice came over the intercom.

Rinoa paused. She could feel the rumble as Balamb's engines started running. There really wasn't time for her to safely descend from the Garden. She went to the library, where she would at least be out of people's way. Once there, she found a place in the back and buried her head in her hands. She would not let Squall bully her into thinking she was responsible for the deaths at Trabia. That was the Sorceress, whoever she was.

_A/N: I guess Zell has some pent-up aggression towards Rinoa. Really not sure where that came from, but I'll roll with it. Also, only half-hearted apologies for making Rinoa the way she is. _

_Finally, if anyone saw this chapter come up and then down again, I changed my mind about how to end it and had to fix it. _


	10. Chapter 9 The Gardens

_A/N: OMG! While playing FF8 today, I made the startling discovery that I was misspelling Kiros' name so bad in previous chapters. If you are someone that bothers, I apologize wholeheartedly and I have fixed my mistakes. As a whole though, this work is unbeta-ed. When I'm finished I'll go back and revise but for now, please bear with the typos, missing words, and misspellings. However, if anyone does see any major plotholes or OOCness, please point them out to me. Thanks ^_^_

Chapter 9- The Gardens

"So, you're sure you're doing ok?" Selphie asked through the phone line in Laguna's conference room. It was great that the president lent her this room when she reported into Garden.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Zell asked. "Not much trouble to get in while the Commander's moving us to... wherever. Trabia if I'm remembering correctly."

"So Squall did win that argument with Xu then?" Irvine asked. He was sitting at the other end of the table, hat over his face, legs propped up.

"The Commander wants to see for himself," Zell said.

"I didn't ask what _Squall_ was up to," Selphie said, bouncing in her seat. "I asked if _you_ were alright." She sat up and peered into the video, trying to get a good look at Zell. "You look pale."

"Its the lighting," Zell said. Selphie didn't believe him for a minute, unless lighting could make bags appear under eyes. He wasn't sleeping but Selphie couldn't fix that from here. Any more than she could give Rinoa the ass-kicking she deserved. How dare that bitch show up _now_! Squall had more important things to worry about.

Irvine sat up and placed his hat on the table. "Look, man, you just lost your mother. We all know how important she was to you. If you want me to bug out so you can cry to Selphie, I'll do so."

Zell looked a little startled at Irvine's rather casual suggestion before he shook his head. Selphie hid a smile. "I'm fine. Really," he said. "Or, I will be. I've got...The Commander's been keeping an eye on me."

"Heh. Seems like Squall figured it out then." Irvine leaned back in the chair again, though he left his hat on the table.

Wait, figured what out? Selphie shot her lover a look but Irvine was looking at the ceiling, not at her. She'd get it out of him later.

"Anyway, I think I've used Leonhart's office enough for now, Selphie," Zell said. "He has work to do, even if we are all stuck in here."

"Good time to catch up on paperwork then. I'm sure Squall's got himself a backlog after his three year vacation," Irvine said.

Selphie giggled. "It wasn't a vacation, Irvy. He was seriously retired."

"Sounds like a vacation to me if he came back," Zell said. "Anyway, see ya." Zell turned off the teleconfrencer on his end, leaving Selphie with static. She turned off Laguna's as well.

"Seems like he'll be alright, Selph. So stop worrying."

"Yeah but..." Selphie shook her head.

"Squall will keep an eye on him. He's usually pretty good about that."

"Squall, being emotionally supportive?"

Irvine chuckled. "Its been less than a full week since Zell woke up. He looks fine to me given what he's been through. Squall must be doing something. Unless you think Rinoa's been comforting him."

"I would kick her ass," Selphie snarled as she stood up. "She better not mess with anymore of my friends! The audacity of that bitch!" Selphie stormed out of the conference room to Irvine's laconic chuckles.

It was easier for Selphie to focus her worry on Zell and her anger on Rinoa than it was for her to remember what had happened to Trabia... Selphie cut off the line of thought. She could mourn after this War. The doctors here were concerned enough about her health after her fit when she had heard the news. She didn't need a repeat of the scene or to be put on medical leave. There would be time for all of that...after.

Fortunately, before Selphie could brood too long, she reached her office. She noticed Kiros waving her over from his room.

Selphie stopped by his open doorway. "What is it?" she asked.

"I just wanted to let you know before you went in that there's someone waiting for you," Kiross told her. "He had all the right passwords, so I let him in."

Selphie nodded. Perhaps it was Xu's missing agent who should have reported in ages ago. "Thanks."

Selphie opened the door to her office. A brown-haired man was studying the books on the bookshelves. He turned around when Selphie entered the room.

"Operative Tilmitt." The man saluted.

Selphie walked to her desk and took a seat. "I assume you are Operative Adler?" she asked, folding her hands in front of her.

The man relaxed and took the seat across the Selphie. "I am. Xu told you of me, then?"

Selphie nodded. "We've been waiting for some sort of information..."

"And I have it." Adler leaned forward and smiled. 'It might be easier if you call the president and Balamb. That way we don't have to go through the official debrief more than once."

Inwardly Selphie groaned. That meant another walk down the hallway. It wasn't long but Selphie was finding that she tired much more easily now than before. She had the feeling that by the end of her nine months she would be absolutely miserable. It didn't help that the doctors here in Esthar thought she was far too thin as it was. One had even tried to put her on bedrest!

Selphie stood up. "This way, Adler," she said as she led the man to the conference room. Along the way they passed Irvine who turned himself around to follow them. Once they were there, Selphie called Squall for the debrief.

It proved to be every bit as interesting as Adler had promised.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"So, where are they now?" Xu asked Adler over the telecommunications device in Squall's office.

"Not sure," Adler said. "Seifer didn't know if they were targeting Galbadia or Balamb next."

"Well, you were right, Squall, they're not at Trabia," Irvine said. "So you can go investigate to your heart's content."

Squall ignored the look Xu shot him. He had the feeling they wouldn't be there now, which was why he gave the order to Nida to take Balamb there. He wanted to see for himself what this Sorceress Thyriss could do.

"I'm confused," Rinoa said. "If Seifer and Edea and Quistis were there, why didn't they kill the Sorceress?"

"They don't want to make her a martyr," Zell said. "They kill her the entire army is loose without anyone to guide it. They'd want revenge."

"Or they'd fall apart and go back home," Irvine suggested.

"Or change their tactics entirely and declare world peace?" Selphie suggested helpfully.

Squall leaned back in his chair. "What do you think, Adler. You spent time with them."

"I'm not sure, but I'd lean towards revenge. Even if they managed to take out Ormis as well, Thyriss had the army pretty damn devoted to her," Adler said. "She has...there's something about her that you want to believe what she says."

"Sorceress powers?" Xu asked.

"I'm not sure. But I think, at heart, she's generally a good person. Just...a little fanatical in her beliefs." Adler seemed like he didn't want to admit this fact to Xu. But Squall found it fascinating. Was there something about being a Sorceress that led to mental instability? He cast a glance at Rinoa. She was studying the rings she wore around her neck, lost in thought. Hyne, he hoped he would never have to face the black-haired girl on a battlefield. He might be furious with her over leaving Trabia, but she had been his friend once.

"A little fanatical in her beliefs?" Xu repeated. She shook her head. "Rad, I thought you had better sense than that."

Adler shrugged. "Anyway, if that's all you need, I'm beat and would like to get some sleep."

"Why didn't she just make one of those gateways to Trabia? Or Balamb, or Galbadia?" Zell asked. "Sounds like she could have taken all three of out before we had time to realize the others had gone silent."

Good question. "Or split her army in three and take us all on simultaneously," Squall said. Though each army would not have had a Sorceress' help, a surprise attack would have been devastating. Squall had certainly not been prepared.

"Thyriss isn't strong enough. She can only move less than a hundred men before she gets exhausted and collapses. Ormis only lets her move half that on a good day."

Well, at least there were no surprise attacks heading their way. If Thyriss even knew where Balamb was, which was unlikely.

"Could she get stronger?" Selphie asked. "How does a Sorceress get stronger anyway?" Selphie didn't directly ask Rinoa, but it was the closest she had come to speaking her during the entire meeting.

"I don't know," Rinoa said. "I was...travelling, hoping to find someone who knew more about being a Sorceress than I did."

"Esthar would have been the place for that," Squall informed her.

"I know. But I didn't..." Rinoa trailed off. Squall saw Zell roll his eyes behind her back. He shot the blond a look. Zell shrugged but plastered an unrepentant grin onto his face. Squall felt something in his chest loosen at the achingly familiar expression. Something he hadn't seen in a while.

"...else, Commander?" Xu asked him.

Squall blinked and turned his attention back to the meeting. Hopefully none of the others noticed his lack of attention.

"I have one more question, Xu," Adler said.

Xu sighed. "What is it?"

"Why is everyone referring to me as your agent? I work for Garden, not you, last I checked."

"Everyone who?" Xu sounded more annoyed than she usually let show.

"Trepe, Tilmitt, and Kinneas. All independently, I should add."

Xu actually rolled her eyes at the man. "You're paranoid. I...don't know why they referred to you as my agent."

"Because you report directly to her?" Selphie asked. "Why, is there another reason why we should?"

"Rad is just concerned that you'll think he was promoted because he's my brother than on his own merits," Xu said. "Which is, from the quality of information you just brought back, entirely not the case. If that is everything?" She turned to look at Squall.

Squall nodded. "That's everything. Inform Laguna of our meeting and tell him that Galbadia and Balamb are both on schedule to meet in Esthar three days from now."

Selphie and Adler gave a salute as Squall turned off the telecommunications device.

"Never knew you had a brother, Xu," Zell said. Then Zell chuckled. "Not that I'd remember if I did."

Xu rolled her eyes. "I don't believe anyone ever asked," Xu said. She excused herself from the room to go finish her inspections of the library staff that had been interrupted.

In the silence of Xu's departure, Rinoa looked from Squall to Zell. Zell continued to lounge in his seat; he didn't look as if he was going anywhere soon. Which was fine with Squall. He didn't particularly want to talk to Rinoa. He bent his head over the table where he was sitting to reshuffle his paperwork. Eventually, he heard Rinoa mumble something before standing up and making her way out of the room.

"So, I have question for you, Commander," Zell said the moment the door was closed.

Squall put the papers down and gave Zell his full attention.

"You ever figure out what you did to piss me off so much?"

Squall opened his mouth but couldn't think of the words to say. Eventually, he closed his mouth again and nodded.

"Well? What was it?"

Squall hesitated, unsure what exactly to say or even if he was right. Zell, like always when waiting for Squall to talk to him, was patient. "Its only a guess," Squall said eventually. "But yes, I think I know. Its not something I did, its something I didn't notice. I don't think you were mad just...desperate." Squall found himself held captive by Zell's blue eyes.

"Desperate? You're not going to tell me more than that, are you?"

Squall shook his head. "When you remember, you'll come talk to me about it. I hope."

"And if I never do?"

Remember or come talk to him? "Then we'll make do," Squall said. "Why?"

Zell stood up and started walking towards the door. Squall thought he wasn't going to answer. "Because Commander, I'm starting to actually like you and if what you did was really so horrible, I'd rather nip this in the bud. Right?" Without waiting for Squall's response, Zell left the office, letting the door close behind him.

Squall let out a breath air and tried to order his heart back into his chest instead of his throat. Maybe things weren't so hopeless after all, even if Zell never regained his memories.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

When the first reports came of the missing Garden, it was clear that Thyriss didn't believe it. She ordered Seifer, Matron, and Ormis to accompany her to the site. Seifer noticed that Quistis followed along uninvited. Truthfully, it was hard not to notice since she attached herself to his arm reminding him very much of the way Rinoa had clung to Squall. It was annoying.

"How the hell does a Garden just disappear? Thyriss demanded. She glared at the offending empty land as if it were at fault. Sure enough, the place where Galbadia Garden sat was empty of everything but the scorch marks made by large engines. The fields around the Garden were still intact, though browning in the summer's heat. Thyriss stamped her foot on the ground in rage.

It was too much. Seifer started laughing. It started as a small chuckle in the back of this throat but eventually erupted into full scale laughter. Quistis let go of his arm and gave him her 'what the hell are you up to look'. That one should be patented.

Matron, however, was looking concerned. Thyriss angry and Ormis curious.

"What is wrong with your knight, Edea?" Thyriss demanded.

"I'm afraid that I'm not sure..." Matron sounded more than a little alarmed at Seifer's behavior.

Seifer drew in several deep breaths to compose himself. "The Gardens...they're mobile."

"Of course the Gardens are mobile," Quistis snapped. "You, of all people, should know that."

"The Gardens can..move?" Thyriss asked. She looked much less angry now than she had been a moment ago. More puzzled really.

"Of course they can. I had forgotten," Matron said.

How does anyone forget a moving Garden? Well, Seifer supposed Matron had really not been her best during the Sorceress War. There was probably a lot that had slipped her mind.

"Why didn't you tell us before, Almassy?" Ormis said.

Seifer sobered completely at the hidden threat in Ormis' tone. Thyriss sensed it as well because she placed a hand on his arm.

"I didn't realize you didn't know," Seifer said, truthfully. "When you said we were heading towards Galbadia, it didn't click that they must know about Trabia now and taken precautions. Which means moving the Garden."

Thyriss pursed her lips, deep in thought. "You didn't think to mention this either, Quistis?"

Quistis shook her head. "I will say that if the order was given for Galbadia to become mobile, then Balamb is as well. The order came from Squall. Probably within minutes of hearing about Trabia."

"But who told them about Trabia?" Matron asked. "I don't believe that anyone escaped."

Not Adler, that was certain. He might have made it to Esthar by now and reported in. But Squall would not have had time to mobilize the Gardens. Things of that mass take time to move and leave trails. Galbadia's was already several days old.

"Never mind who told them," Thyriss said. "For all we know, the Headmaster at Trabia could have taken a few minutes to call Balamb himself during the attack."

"He was hiding in his room," Ormis said.

"The question we should focus on, is what do we do now? How do we bring an army to something that can move away?" Thyriss asked.

Seifer wasn't going to stress himself over the question. He walked a step or two towards the Garden's empty lot and studied it. Quistis attatched herself to his arm again. Her head rested against his shoulder. It actually felt...nice. What a shame the woman herself had no respect for him. Hyne only knew she was hating every moment of this charade. Why hadn't he thought of a better excuse for Quitis' presence? Oh right, damned wish-fulfillment.

"I have an idea, Thyriss," Ormis said slowly. Thyriss didn't respond verbally but Ormis continued with his idea, "We make the Garden's come to us."

"How?" Seifer heard Matron ask.

"Simple. We take our army and march to Deling City." Seifer felt Quistis stiffen against his arm. "We take the city hostage until one or both of the Gardens come meet us."

"And if they don't come?" Thyriss asked. "I don't want to hurt innocent..."

"Deling City has provided both Gardens with hundreds of students. They're not innocent," Ormis said. His voice was rough with constrained anger. "We kill one hundred citizens for each day the Gardens fail to show up!"

"No!" Seifer dropped Quistis' arm and moved towards Ormis. He was shaking with rage. That was unconscionable and even worse, Thyriss seemed to be considering it. His hand twitched towards his gunblade but he wasn't quite that stupid.

"Seifer," Matron's voice held a tone of warning.

Ormis had moved to in front of Thyriss. He held his staff up to block Seifer's advance.

"Edea, control your Knight," Thyriss said, her voice sharp.

"Seifer, please!" Quistis had re-attached herself to his arm.

Seifer allowed himself to be calmed by Quistis. Not because he wanted to. But because if he did what he wanted, he could get them all killed, including Quistis.

"I don't like it any more than you do, Seifer," Thyriss said. "But Ormis has a point. This will bring the Gardens to us."

"But at what cost, Thyriss," Matron asked gently.

Seifer thought quickly. "Not Deling City," he said.

Quistis frowned at him. "Where?" she asked.

"You have another suggestion?" Thyriss asked.

"Dollett."

"Dollett is a small town," Ormis said. "It won't attract the Gardens nearly as much as Deling..."

"But it has the Communication Tower," Matron finished. "The one President Deling used to name me ambassador."

Seifer nodded. "You take Dollett and announce your intentions. Then Garden will come to Deling to stop you before you kill anyone." Seifer hoped he didn't sound too desperate.

Thyriss nodded. She was liking the idea. Seifer felt the tightness in his chest loosen.

"Or," Ormis said. "You take a small group to Dollett while Thyriss, Edea, and myself lead the bulk of the army and take Deling. By the time you make the announcement, we will already have the city."

Seifer narrowed his eyes at the black-haired man. Ormis smiled a small, satisfied smirk. Clearly, he was keeping Matron back as a hostage for Seifer's good behavior.

"I like it. Excellent job, you two," Thyriss said, her rage dissipated. She smiled sweetly. "I think this a good job for you and your two friends, right? Oh, and Quistis as well."

Seifer nodded. "Yes, ma'am. I'll gather Fuujin and Raijin and we'll leave as soon as we return to camp."

Thyriss took Matron by the arm and started walking in the direction of the camp. Ormis followed behind them, leaving Seifer and Edea to bring up the rear.

Quistis withdrew her hand from Seifer and stopped. Seifer turned to look at her. "I..." Quistis' face was bright red. She cleared her throat. "You did a good job, Seifer," she said, sounding like she was praising a school boy. Seifer found he didn't mind; most likely because she was clearly so uncomfortable with the complement. "That was impressive thinking." Quistis dropped her head from Seifer's gaze and reached forward to cling against his arm again. "Let's catch up with the others."

Seifer blinked. Maybe she didn't think he was a total fuck-up after all.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Zell shivered when he stepped out from the warmth that encased Garden's interior. Even though he was bundled in warm clothes, the chill of Trabia still seeped into every bone of his body. "Where was the Garden from here?" he asked Leonhart.

Leonhart pointed towards a small pass in the mountains. "Through there."

"We know its destroyed," Rinoa said, coming to a stop by Zell. "What else do we need to know?"

Zell wondered if he could get away with ignoring the Sorceress on this trip. Probably not since it was just the three of them. When Leonhart ignored her question and started walking, Zell figured it was up to him to keep her informed. "Signs of what their battle strategies are, how they're organized, what sort of attacks they use. There will be lot of debris around the field for us to look at." Zell walked as he spoke.

"But why am I here?"

Apparently the Commander wasn't so far ahead he couldn't hear their conversation. "You might be able to sense something we can't."

Rinoa didn't have a response to that. They crossed the snow field from Garden to the pass Leonhart had pointed out with no sound but the crunching of their feet in the snow. Zell enjoyed the silence. It was peaceful.

Unfortunately, it didn't last long. "Why didn't we land closer to the Garden? Its cold out here."

"We're better camouflaged back there," Leonhart responded. "The Sorceress might have noticed that we were gone and assumed we would comeback here.

"Did you really defeat the Sorceress with us?" Zell asked her.

Rinoa stopped and looked at Zell. "You really don't remember, do you?" she asked.

Zell rolled his eyes. Now that the GFs were gone from his mind, it seemed that his lack of memories irritated him less. At least, he wasn't angry about being reminded of his stupidity. "Obviously," he said.

"You should have given up your GFs when Squall told you to," Rinoa said softly. She shook her head and continued walking.

Zell snorted and followed after her. He wasn't going to defend a decision he didn't know why he made, but he assumed he had a good reason for ignoring orders. Zell's eyes drifted to the Commander's back, clad in a fur-lined leather jacket. Whatever reason it was, it had something to do with the brown-haired man, his startling blue eyes, and the fact that when Zell spoke, the man listened. Like earlier today in his office. Leonhart had been busy with paperwork but the moment Zell had said something, his eyes had shot up to captivate Zell.

The pass was rockier than the field but it still didn't take the three of them long to climb over it to see the destruction of Trabia Garden.

The Garden looked much like Zell thought a Garden should. Structurally, at least, it was sound. An image flashed in Zell's mind of the Garden a smoking pile of rubble. During the Sorceress war?

Leonhart stopped at the top of the ridge, surveying the land. Rinoa stepped up to his right. Zell to his left.

"It looks the same" Rinoa said.

"But its not," Leonhart said. "All those people. Five-hundred of them, except for the few Seifer saved, dead." He fixed his blue gaze on Rinoa. "A shame there wasn't someone who could have saved them."

Rinoa shook her head vehemently. "Don't blame me for this, Squall," she pleaded, her voice shaking. "I didn't do it. It was Thyriss. Not me."

"But you allowed it to happen. You ran away when you could have helped. After all the lectures you gave me about caring..."

The girl looked like she was about to cry. Not that Zell didn't think she deserved it but now wasn't the time. They had a job to do. He touched Leonhart on the shoulder. "Enough, man," he said.

Zell was surprised when Leonhart turned to look at Zell. It was quiet for a moment before he spoke again, "Let's keep going. If anyone is watching, they've seen us by now." He turned away from Zell and unsheathed his gunblade from his belt.

Zell adjusted his gloves. They didn't need adjusting, but the action was automatic. Rinoa pulled her blaster edge from its holster on her back.

They descended the slope in silence and it wasn't long before they reached the Garden. It was deathly quiet. Leonhart gave orders for the three of them to spread out and take note of the damage. They were supposed to stay within eyesight of each other at all times.

It didn't take long before they had scoured the outside of the Garden. Leonhart found some evidence that Seifer had been among the fighting, but nothing unexpected. Thankfully, the vast majority of the bodies had been frozen solid by Trabia's freezing climate. The cold also masked the stench that would have been overwhelming had they been in Balamb's tropical climate.

After they had seen everything outside, Leonhart had Rinoa see if she could sense anything. She said she couldn't but Zell had his doubts. He didn't think she knew what she was doing.

They moved into the building then. It was much the same as outside. They found the classroom where Seifer had kept the children. It was obvious from collections of blankets and stuffed toys left behind. Zell left the room rather quickly to wait outside. Once again, Rinoa sense nothing unusual.

Finally they walked to the seashore, where the armies had come here. Here, Rinoa sense a spell of some sort, but she couldn't identify it. Most likely the one used by Thyriss to cancel out technology.

It was near dusk by the time they had finished. Rinoa was shivering with cold. Zell was freezing but he kept it to himself. Leonhart appeared untouched by the weather. Zell knew his jacket wasn't that much warmer than their clothes.

"Can we head back now?" Rinoa asked.

Leonhart nodded. He motioned for Rinoa to lead the way. She did so, gladly, almost running back towards the pass that would lead to the warmth of Balamb Garden.

Zell followed a little more slowly, letting the Commander fall into step beside him.

"Remember anything," the Commander asked.

Zell shook his head. "Not much," he admitted. "Just...a burned out building. Like missiles hit it or something." He glanced at Leonhart to see if he was accurate.

There was a flash of triumph in the man's eyes. "Exactly what happened. During the war," he said. "It was retaliation for our part in the attempt to assassinate Edea."

"Edea who's now our friend?" Zell was unclear on that point.

They reached the pass. Rinoa was already half-way up the rocky terrain ahead of them. Zell and Leonhart started the climb a little more slowly.

"She was controlled by another Sorceress. Ultimecia. She was our real target."

"It seems as though this Thyriss was right. SeeD was created to destroy a Sorceress."

"But only Edea. And Ultimecia. We didn't even know this one existed."

They reached the top of the pass and started on their way down. Rinoa had already reached the bottom.

"Right. So, you dated Rinoa then, right? During the War?"

"And after. She's the reason I left Garden."

Zell contemplated the girl walking down the pass ahead of them. She had almost reached the bottom to the flat fields. "You two don't seem like a good match."

"You always thought we worked well together," Leonhart replied.

"I did?"

"Well, that's what you always said." Leonhart hesitated a moment before continuing. "But I'm getting the recent impression that you may have been lying to me."

Zell didn't comment further and they completed the walk in silence. Zell had to admit, once he crossed the Garden's threshold, it was good to be able to think clearly again. Maybe he could start to rebuild some of the past that he had lost.


	11. Chapter 10 Plans

Chapter 10 - Plans

Seifer called a halt near the train platform closest to where Galbadia Garden once sat. It was far enough away from the Sorceress' camp that he could put his plan into motion.

"What's up?" Raijin asked. "Dollet is that way, ya know." He pointed over in the town's general direction.

"Not going to Dollet," Fuujin said. "Obvious."

"Right," Seifer said. "You're not. I am."

Quistis frowned. "You're sending them ahead to Deling City to warn the people and prepare an defense. You can also alert Squall to Thyriss' plan."

"That's about the size of it. If you three hurry you can get there well in advance of Thyriss and her army."

"You?" Fuujin asked.

"Someone does have to go to Dollet to make the broadcast or Thyriss will get suspicious. I'll get there days ahead of her army, make the announcement and hightail it out of there towards Deling and show up after Thyriss has her ass kicked by the Galbadian Army."

"No way!" Raijin said. "That leaves you and Edea in loads of trouble with the Sorceress, ya know. We didn't travel halfway around the world to let you get killed."

"No, you traveled halfway around the world because Squall ordered it," Seifer said. "And now I'm ordering you to Deling City. I can take care of myself."

"Who put you in charge?" Fuujin asked.

"I did. Got a problem with it?"

"I do. Several actually," Quistis said.

Seifer turned his attention to his former instructor. "Right. Why?"

"First, What's going to happen to Edea? She'll be blamed for this as soon as Thyriss sees the army waiting for her." Quistis started pacing. "Second, you won't be able to avoid the army on your return. You'll be caught for sure even if Thyriss wasn't actively looking for you. You can't play innocent about the whole thing because both you and Matron vouched for our good behavior."

"Right," Seifer said. "So, what's your point? You have a better idea?" Quistis wasn't saying anything he didn't know. This was probably a death sentence for both him and Matron. But Seifer had the feeling that Matron would approve of this plan, even if she didn't know it. Perhaps Matron could convince Thyriss that he was led astray by his lover and spare herself. When he was caught, Seifer would do his best to give that impression.

Quistis stopped her pacing to look at Seifer long and hard. Eventually she shook her head.

Fuujin shook her head. "Let's go, then." She tugged on Raijin's vest.

Raijin looked like he wanted to argue some more. Seifer wasn't surprised. But if Quistis could not come up with a better plan, then Raijin certainly couldn't. If thinking ahead was Seifer's weak point, thinking at all was usually not Raijin's forte.

Fuujin started walking, dragging a still protesting Raijin behind her. Quistis however, was not moving.

"I thought I said three," Seifer said.

"You don't need three of us to get word to Deling," Quistis said. She took a deep breath and stepped closer to Seifer. "I'm staying with you."

Seifer looked at his departing friends. Raijin had apparently stopped struggling against Fuujin and was walking behind her now. Neither one seemed to notice that Quistis was not following them. "What? You think I'll do something stupid and fuck it up?" Seifer asked.

"Is that you think?" Quistis asked. "That I'm only concerned that you'll complete the mission?"

"What else would you be concerned about?" Seifer asked.

"You! I care about you, Seifer." Quistis looked away from him, her eyes looking off in the distance. "If this is going to be the last time I see you, I want to make sure...I want to make sure I've done everything in my power to make sure that you're safe." She turned to face Seifer again.

Seifer opened his mouth to respond but couldn't find anything to say. What was he supposed to say to that? "Fine. Let's go." His throat was tighter than the expected it to be and the words came out as more of a groan that actual speech. He turned away from Quistis and started walked, leaving the blond woman to catch up to him if she really wanted to. Hopefully she would change her mind and head back to catch up with Fuujin and Raijin.

It wasn't long before Quistis fell in step next to him.

They walked most of the day in relative silence. Once dusk fell, the duo set about making a small campsite in the middle of the field. Seifer started the fire and food while Quistis laid out their bedrolls and fetched water from the nearby stream. By the time true night fell, dinner was finished and washed.

Seifer lay back to look up at the stars. It looked like it would be a clear night; Seifer could already make out several of the constellations in the night sky. If only it weren't so damned hot outside. It might be best if they killed the fire for the night but Seifer enjoyed watching it.

"We should set a watch," Quistis said.

"I'll stay up," Seifer said. He didn't need a reminder that there were still monsters roaming the land.

"I wasn't saying because I thought..." Quistis trailed off. "I wasn't trying to tell you what to do."

Seifer sat up. "But that's what you do best, isn't it, Headmistress?" he asked. "You give instructions and explain where everyone went wrong and what they should have done better and all under the guise of caring for people. Squall probably sent you on this mission so that he didn't have to listen to you second-guess every decision he made." That wasn't true and Seifer knew it. He wasn't sure why he was so angry with her. Maybe because of her stupid dumb-ass decision to put her life on the line with him.

"I told you I volunteered for this mission," Quistis said softly. She sounded more pissed off than angry though. "I thought that maybe I could help you. But I see now I was just sticking my nose where it didn't belong. Good night, Seifer. Wake me when you feel tired." Without another word, Quistis lay down in her bedroll, her back to the fire and to Seifer.

Seifer let her stew. Maybe if she was pissed enough she would leave and get herself to safety.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Squall squirmed uncomfortably in his father's embrace. Laguna eventually released him and Squall stepped back. He didn't say anything, mostly because any complaining he did would be ignored by Laguna.

"You look good, Squall. Better than you have in years. I think command suits you," Laguna said, his stupid grin plastering his face. Although he was dressed formally for the meeting they would be going to momentarily, Laguna acted as though he was enjoying a day at the beach.

"We always thought so, President Loire," Xu said from behind him.

"Martine is already waiting in the Conference Room, Xu, Squall," Kiros told them. He nudged Laguna. "And we should get going before he gets impatient."

"Right, thanks for reminding me," Laguna said. "I think Selphie said she was on her way..." He turned to start up the narrow Esthar roadway, away from where Balamb Garden was parked on the outskirts of the city. He didn't get far before Selphie bounded into view.

"Squall!" She called. "Its great to see you again! You too, Xu." Selphie had her normal grin on her face, but to Squall's eye it appeared to be a little forced.

For the second time today, Squall found himself clutched in a rather uncomfortable embrace. Didn't either of them understand he was here in an official capacity? He shrugged Selphie off. "You seem to be doing well." That wasn't entirely true, but Squall had learned that sometimes brutal honesty wasn't the best course of action. She looked like she was trying very hard to be very cheerful. He would have to get the truth out of Irvine later.

Selphie nodded, her small curls bobbing energetically, even for Selphie. "I'm great," she said. She peered more closely at Squall. "How's Zell?"

"Zell is...he's fine. Doing better now, I think," Squall said. Not that Zell confided much in Squall, but he seemed to be better than he had been when Squall had first arrived, the loss of his mother notwithstanding.

"Good. I'm going to go see him now," Selphie said. "You two have fun at the meeting."

"He's in the Commander's Office," Xu said. "Monitoring the phone in case anything comes up during the meeting."

"Great. See you later!" Selphie waved before bouncing off into the Garden's open doorway.

"Shall we?" Kiros asked. He motioned for Squall to proceed him.

"You sent me an energetic one, Squall," Laguna said as Squall fell into step beside him. As always, the crystal blue 'streets' of Esthar made Squall nervous, as though if he stepped too hard he would shatter them. Fortunately, it wasn't a long walk to the nearest lift station which would take them directly to the Presidential Palace.

"She's also very good at what she does," Squall said.

"I can see that. I can also see another reason why she was your first pick for this position."

"Making a point?" Squall asked. They reached the lift station. The lift waited until all four members of their party were on before whisking away in the direction of the Palace. Kiros and Xu were in conversation themselves. They were also, Squall noticed, keeping a rather respectful distance from Squall and Laguna, presumably giving the father and son time to catch up privately.

"Only that you can pretend not to care about anyone but its pretty obvious when you," Laguna said. "By the way, Ellone told me to make sure you drop in to see her after the meeting."

"I intended to," Squall said. He ignored the other part of Laguna's statement.

"Good. Don't make me find Ward and force you."

Fortunately Squall was saved from further small talk by the lift's arrival at the Palace. He exited quickly and made his way to the conference room, letting the others follow after him.

The conference room was already occupied when Squall arrived by Adler, Martine, and Martine's second-in-command, a strict woman by the name of Ari Rodestar.

Squall nodded in greeting to the three and took a seat close to the door. Xu followed a moment later and took the seat next to him. Laguna and Kiros filled out the remaining two seats around the circular table. A pitcher of water as well as glasses were already at the desks. Squall helped himself to some as Xu placed the folder she had been carrying for them on the desk in front of them.

"Well, ladies and gentlemen, we have a plan to make," Laguna said. "I assume, Martine, you've had time to review the latest information from Operative Adler?"

Martine nodded. "I have. It is most...informative."

"I can't help but wonder why we weren't called immediately with Adler's information?" Rodestar asked.

"I wouldn't complain too much, ma'am," Kiros cut in. "Neither the president nor I were present for the initial debriefing."

"Yeah, and they used our conference room too," Laguna added.

Squall fought the urge to roll his eyes. Neither Laguna nor Kiros were upset about the oversight. And neither should Galbadia.

"We contacted you as soon as we could," Xu said. "There were other arrangements to be made."

"We understand, of course," Martine said. "However, I have a question about Almassy."

Squall knew where this one was going. "Almassy is trustworthy," he cut in before Martine could even finish his sentence. "As is the former Sorceress Edea."

"If you're certain," Martine said. "And as long as you prepared for the possibility that you might be wrong."

"If we are wrong," Xu said, "you can rest assured that the Commander and I fully prepared to deal with those consequences. After all, you might remember that Leonhart did so rather effectively in the last Sorceress War."

Martine didn't seem to have a response to that statement.

"If we're done with the questions," Laguna said. "I think we can get to the planning stage."

Kiros nodded his agreement and Martine sat back, clearly unsatisfied with Balamb's responses but unable to do anything.

There was a reason Squall had chosen Esthar as their meeting ground, and not just because it was one of the safest locations in the world at the moment. Though he doubted even Esthar to could up to the Sorceress if she attacked and they were unprepared.

Of course, it was unlikely that Esthar was still unprepared, given Adler's information.

"I think its time to launch an attack," Martine said. "Before the Sorceress grows any stronger or destroys another one of us."

"Agreed," Xu said. "The attack should also be a united effort between the three of us."

"Could we get the Galbadian government in as well?" Laguna asked.

"Not possible," Rodestar said. "We contacted them earlier but the Galbadian government is taking the stance that as long as the Sorceress is threatening the Gardens, its not their problem."

"Shortsighted," Xu muttered.

"According to my understanding of Thyriss, its not shortsighted at all," Adler said, speaking for the first time in the meeting. "If she's just targeting the Garden's then the rest of Galbadia would be smart to stay out of it."

"But they didn't know that at the time, Rad," Xu said.

"Fine," Squall said. "We launch an united attack against the Sorceress and her armies. Where and how?"

"That would be the problem with that plan," Kiros said. "We have no idea where the Sorceress is."

"She is most likely at one of the two places with her army," Adler said. "Balamb's site or Galbadia's."

Martine turned to Adler. "Would we be enough if we split our forces in two and attacked both places?"

"Not a good idea, Sir," Rodestar said. "Trabia couldn't stand against them."

"But Trabia was unprepared," Xu said. "And it is the smallest Garden."

"And you'll have Esthar troops backing you up," Laguna added.

Squall shook his head. "I might have a need for some of those troops," he said.

"Oh?" Martine gave Squall his attention.

"Adler indicated that the Sorceress is pulling her resources from small villages in Southern Esthar," Squall said. "If we sent part of the Esthari army to occupy the towns..."

"We cut off her retreat," Kiros finished. "That sounds like a plan. We'll divide the Esthar army into thirds. One third will remain here as a defense force since Esthar, unlike the Gardens is not mobile. One third will go to take control of the towns. And the last third will be used in the strike."

"As soon as we figure out where to strike," Rodestar said.

The door to the conference opened. In the doorway stood a rather out of breath Zell and Selphie. "We can tell you where to hit," Zell said. "And from the info we just got, you better hit sooner than later."

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

When Zell and Selphie heard the message from Raijin about the Sorceress' plans, they immediately left the Garden to get word to the meeting. It wasn't until they were already in the Palace that Zell had realized they could just have just called. By then, however, it was too late and they had been roped into the rest of the planning meeting.

At least, Zell had been. Selphie had been so out of breath that everyone agreed she needed to go lie down. Selphie had protested until Leonhart had made it an order and asked if he needed to call Irvine to escort her. Selphie had huffed a little at that but left willingly.

The rest of the meeting was absolutely boring. The Commanders and the President hashed out the details of the attack that Zell didn't really care about. Tell him where to punch and he would. He was, however, impressed with Leonhart's comments. It seemed Leonhart was impressing him a lot lately and Zell truthfully wasn't sure what to think about that. He was beginning to get the idea that he had Leonhart had been a lot closer than he had first suspected.

And if the bastard had gone off with Rinoa, that would explain why Zell chose to forget him. But Leonhart had mentioned that he hadn't done anything to piss Zell off. But he had said it was something he hadn't noticed. In which case, it sounded like Zell himself might have been the idiot. But, until he could regain his memories, there wasn't much Zell could do about it. Other than continue to study the brown-haired man from an ever-decreasing distance.

The meeting ended after what seemed like forever. It wasn't until Zell was invited back to the President's apartments to see someone called "Ellone" that Zell was even aware the meeting was over.

"Yeah, sure, I'll go," Zell said. He wondered briefly, after he noticed Xu chatting with her brother instead of following them, if he was supposed to know who Ellone was.

Leonhart hung back to walk next to Zell, something that Zell was becoming increasingly used to. The President's aide, Zell hadn't caught his name, left the conference room in the opposite direction from the rest of them to set in motion some of the plans they had discussed.

"Ellone is like a big sister to all of us," Leonhart told him softly. "She knows that the GFs wiped your memory, but I thought you would like to know."

Zell nodded his thanks. "What do you mean, like a big sister?"

"She's...my mother took care of her after her parents died. When my mother died, Ellone helped Edea take care of all of us at the orphanage."

"When you say us..." Zell didn't recall an orphanage. He knew his ma was not his biological mother but...

"We were all at an orphanage together. Selphie and Irvine. Quistis, Seifer, me, you. And Ellone."

"And we all ended up fighting the Sorceress together? Coincidence?"

Leonhart's answer was cut short by the President''s entrance into his sitting room. A girl was waiting on the couch. She had short, dark hair, and cheerful brown eyes. She put the book aside when she saw who was in the room.

The woman stood up and walked over to Leonhart. Rather than pouncing him like Selphie might have done, she hugged him close but gently. Leonhart didn't seem to put out by her behavior. Then she approached Zell.

"I know you don't remember me, Zell," she said, a mischievous glint in her eyes, "but I think I can rectify that. If you want." She hugged him as well, much the same way she had Leonhart. Zell returned the hug, feeling more than a little awkward.

"You can?" Zell asked her as soon as he pulled away. "How?" If she could help his memories come back faster...

"Elle? What are you thinking?" Loire asked.

Ellone walked back to her couch. She motioned for Leonhart and Zell to sit next to her. Both did so, rather automatically. It seemed both of them were conditioned to listen to her. Perhaps it was the quiet way she just assumed they would. Loire took a seat in the large armchair across the coffee table from the couch.

"I've been thinking about the Guardian Forces. I don't believe they truly extinguish memories," Ellone said.

"Or we'd never get them back," Leonhart finished.

"Right. So if all Zell needs is something to remind him, I can do that."

"How?" Zell asked.

"I can Connect you back to yourself. I've never done it before, but I think it might work."

"Connect?"

"It means she can take you back in time to experience the past through another person's eyes," Leonhart said. "You won't be able to influence the events, just watch, as though they were happening to you."

Zell frowned.

"How will that work?" Laguna asked. "I was aware of it when you Connected Squall to me."

"Yes, but only vaguely. I think it should be fine," Ellone said. "I don't think you would have ever figured it out if I hadn't told you." She smiled slightly as she spoke, as though the thought of Laguna never finding out amused her. "So, Zell, do you think we should try it?"

Zell swallowed, his throat suddenly very dry. "Sure," he said. "When?"

"We don't move until the day after tomorrow," Leonhart said. "It will take that long to prepare everything and organize ourselves." He wasn't looking at Zell, but Zell had the feeling the Commander would rather this be done before they went into an all-out battle against the Sorceress.

Truthfully, Zell did too. "Tomorrow then?"

Ellone smiled again. "Tomorrow it is. I'll meet you in your room, first thing in the morning."


	12. Chapter 11 Memories

_A/N: I apologize for the heavy use of italics in this chapter. Couldn't think of how else to distinguish between dream-time and not. Also, I realize I've made Rinoa into a bitch. I tried honestly not to let my utter disdain and loathing of her show through, but my sister tells me I failed miserably. _

Chapter 11- Memories

Zell jumped at the soft knock at the door to his room. "Come in," he called. He stood up from the only chair in the room to sit down on the bed only to stand up again when Ellone entered the small bedroom.

For once, the room was neatly cleaned with his t-board up against the wall and his bed made. All of Zell's efforts were wasted however when Ellone ignored the room and just smiled at Zell. "I'm glad you agreed, Zell," she said. "I think...I think you will be happy to remember things."

"Yeah, well, there are some things I need to figure out," Zell said. "And I think I'd rather get them sorted before we head into battle." Zell stepped back from the door as Ellone entered and took the seat at the desk. Zell wondered where he should be putting himself.

"Relax, Zell," Ellone said. "Why don't you have a seat on the bed."

Zell sat down. "I'm not nervous." That was a lie. His stomach felt like it had tied itself into knots.

Ellone laughed. "Of course not. We've done this dozens of times before."

"We have?"

Ellone nodded. "Yes, we have. You just don't remember." Ellone stood up rather abruptly. "Lie down, Zell." She walked over to sit next to the bed as Zell did as he was told. "And just...relax..."

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

_At first, Zell wasn't sure where he was. There was the sound of waves in the background, which made Zell think of Balamb. But then he realized he was starting out over a beach and he was much, much smaller than he was now. _

Don't wanna go back inside...Matron can come find me...

_Zell was momentarily startled at the foreign thoughts, but then he realized they were coming from himself._

_Zell turned his head to the sound of footsteps coming across the sand. He recognized a much younger Ellone coming towards him. _

"_Zell? What are you doing out here all by yourself?" Ellone asked him._

_Zell shook his head violently. "I'm not going back in and you can't make me." He stamped his foot against the wet sand. _

"_Okay then." Ellone sat down in the sand. "I'll wait out here with you." _

_Zell looked over at Ellone and then craned his head back towards the orphanage. "You should go back there. Everyone likes you," he said. _

"_That's alright, I like it out here. See, you can see the sunset." The younger Ellone pointed out over the water._

_Zell sat down to watch the sink into the ocean in front of him. I like the ocean. Its pretty and big and always moving. "Hey sis, what's on the other side of the ocean?"_

"_Lots of things. New cities, new places. Lots of people."_

Lots of people that I don't know? What would that be like? I bet they'd all hate me just like everyone here...

_Zell remembered now, why this child-version of himself had left the orphanage. It was a party. A, 'birthday' celebration for all the kids in the orphanage at once. And Seifer had knocked into Zell making him spill his piece of cake on the ground. The other kids had laughed at him. Zell was amused at the memory now; Matron had probably had another piece of cake cut for him but he had run out of the orphanage before she could give it to him, crying like a little baby. _

_Another set of footsteps came across the sand, drawing Zell's attention away from the water. A much younger Leonhart was walking across the sand, carefully balancing three paper plates with cake on them. _

"_Matron sent me..." _

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"How are you doing?" Ellone asked as Zell sat up. It felt really good to be back in his own body. She handed a glass of water.

"Fine," Zell said as he took a sip. He noticed the Ellone had one as well. "I..." if Zell thought about it, he could recall his time at the orphanage. It was just a vague outline but if Zell concentrated on a specific incident or person...

The image of Selphie as a little girl flooded his mind. Even then she had been adorable and had been on of his closest friends. No wonder she was always acting as though Zell would forget her. In a way, he had. They had gotten Seifer back for spilling Zell's cake on the floor the next night when they had poured water all over Seifer's bed. Matron had not been happy with either of them and had made them help her re-make the bed and stay up with her until the sheets were finished drying. They had both fallen asleep early but...

"Zell?" Ellone asked.

Zell shook his head. "Sorry, I think I got lost..."

Ellone smiled. "Its fine. So...its working?"

"Yeah, I think it is." Zell met Ellone's eyes. "What else can you help me remember?"

Ellone reached out to take Zell's glass of water from him...

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

_It took less time for Zell to orient himself this time around. Zell was standing in the doorway to his room, a small bag over his shoulder. _

"_And this will be your room!" Ma was saying. His new father walked past him to place the large suitcase on the bed. _

_Zell looked around the room with wide eyes. "All mine?" he asked. _This is awesome! I don't have to share with Irvine or Squall or Seifer any more! _Of course, Zell could also remember his first night in the room, unable to get to sleep without the sound of his friends in the room. _

"_All yours," Pa said. _

"_Now, you just set your bag down there and I'll head downstairs to fix you something to eat," Ma said. "How about some hotdogs?"_

My favorite!_ "Yes, please," Zell said. _

"_Pa will stay up here to help you unpack." Ma reached down to give Zell a kiss on the cheek before leaving downstairs. Hyne, how many times since that first one did Zell shy away from his mother's kisses. What an idiot he was..._

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"I'm sorry," Ellone said.

Zell didn't feel like moving. He thought he had finished crying over his mother but apparently everything hurt more when he could remember he more clearly. He could remember his grandfather's and father's funeral, every angry word he and his mother exchanged about his decision to enroll in Garden, how it felt to leave home. But, he could also remember the summer fireworks Balamb put on every year, his first day of school, and his mother's cooking. Fuck.

Ellone waited patiently until Zell sat up and grabbed his glass of water from the desk near the bed. When he finished the glass, Ellone silently took it from him and left the room to refill it.

"I think you forgot to mention that memories suck," Zell said when she had resumed her seat.

"I think you knew that, Zell," Ellone replied. "Why else did you try so hard to get rid of them?"

"Thought it was something Squall did."

"Perhaps," Ellone said. "Ready for another one? Or do you want to stop?"

"Let's go on..." Zell lay back down...

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

_The teenaged Zell dodged the punch Seifer threw at him and landed one of his on on the taller man's chest. Seifer took the blow but landed a solid one on Zell's head._

_Then rough hands were pulling him back away from the red-head. Zell fought against them. _I wanna rip that asshole to shreds! _The hands held Zell firmly however. Seifer was likewise struggling against Raijin._

"_Teachers!" Fuujin called from up the hallway. Zell stopped struggling against the hands holding him. _

"_We'll finish this later, Chicken," Seifer snarled. _Who the fuck does Seifer think he is?___Seifer turned and walked away followed by his two friends_

_Zell turned to snarl at the dark-haired boy who had interfered. "Next time just let me finish him!" he told Squall._

_Squall looked at him for a moment. _What the hell? Why doesn't he say something? _"Staring at something, Squall?" Zell wished he could tell himself that Squall was deciding how best to diffuse the situation. But he couldn't of course. _

"_Whatever," Squall said before walking away. _He's a bloody bastard too. Both of them, acting like they don't remember who I am! We went to the bloody orphanage together! _Well, now Zell remembered how it felt to have people not remember you. Squall seemed to handle Zell's memory loss than Zell had handled his. _

"_Don't just walk away from me, Squall!" Zell called._

_Squall stopped and turned to face Zell, a frown creasing his forehead. "Do I...know you?" Zell could hear the confusion in Squall's voice, but his younger self could not. _

"_What do you mean? Do you know me? You and Seifer!" Zell stormed off away from Squall. _Whatever. If they want to pretend they don't know me, then …

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"God I was an idiot," Zell said. He shook his head at himself.

"I would say you are young," Ellone said. "And you didn't realize the Guardian Forces would have taken their memories."

"Right." That one hadn't been particularly devastating, but along with it came the grueling training he underwent to become a SeeD, the rush of power he got from using the GF for the first time and the beginning of what Zell could only describe as a crush on the future commander.

"Ready?"

Zell nodded. "Sure, let's go for it."

Once again, the world around Zell spun into darkness...

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

_Zell groaned as he stood up from where he had fallen asleep against the banister in Ultimecia's castle. He wasn't surprised to see that Squall was already wide-awake. In fact, Zell, noted, he was the last one up._

"_Good thing we scared most of the monsters away," Irvine said. _

_Zell yawned and managed to look sheepish. "Yeah well, I guess I was more tired than I thought." _

"_We're fine, it doesn't matter," Squall said. He looked towards the double doors leading to the next section of the hallway. _

"_Squall, that's nice of you," Rinoa said, grabbing onto his arm. Squall kept his eyes focused on the door ahead._

See how he doesn't notice you, Rin? That's not going to get better._ But it had because Rinoa had been persistent. Zell felt the flood of emotions he had kept locked away in his memories. _

"_Well, let's get going," Quistis said. She offered Selphie a hand up. _

"_Yeah! We've gotta be almost to Ultimecia now!" Selphie said. She beamed at Squall and Rinoa and leaned in to Irvine. "Don't they look cute together?" she asked the tall, hatless cowboy. _

"_If you say so, Selph," Irvine said. _

"_Quistis, Irvine take point," Squall said. "Rinoa, Selphie in the middle. Zell and I will bring up the rear." He shook Rinoa free as Quistis and Irvine moved to the front of the small group and started walking towards the door. Rinoa and Selphie followed a couple paces behind. "Remember, Rinoa," Squall said, "keep your blaster edge ready." The dark-haired girl pulled her weapon free from its holster and made sure it was loaded._

_Zell started to follow Rinoa and Selphie but was stopped by Squall's arm on his shoulder. "Thanks, Zell," he said softly, giving the shoulder a squeeze before starting the walk down the hallway.___Damn it, Squall, you have no idea what you're doing, do you?_ Of course Squall hadn't known, mostly because Zell had never spoken up..._

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The entire Sorceress War flashed against Zell's memory. Everything, from their exam in Dollett to the Time Compression. Ellone's attempt to change the past by Connecting them to Laguna, Kiros, and Ward.

Zell took a deep breath and sat up. "Right, I think I have almost everything now."

"I'm not surprised. The rest after the was … more simple." Ellone took a sip from her water glass. "I think...there's one more though that might bring back everything the rest."

"Sure thing," Zell said.

"You might want to take the rest of the evening after this to...remember."

Zell shook his head. He glanced at the clock over his door, eyes widening slightly at the time. When Ellone had come in, it was eight in the morning. They had been at this for almost ten hours. Zell supposed he should feel hungry but his insides were tied in knots. At best he felt rather hollow, as if his mind was absorbing too much information at once. Which he supposed it was.

"Do you want a break before this last one?" Ellone asked.

"Not really. Are you hungry at all?"

Ellone smiled. She pointed to a tray of food that was on the desk. "Selphie dropped by to see how it was going," she said. "I asked her to bring me something."

Good. At least Ellone wasn't suffering for his selfishness. Because that's exactly what all of this was. "Then let's finish it." Zell lay back down. "And...thanks, Sis," Zell remember to say before the darkness claimed him for a final time.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"_Sure, come in." Zell stepped aside and opened his door for Squall. Don't stare too long. He'll notice. And why would that have been bad again?_

_The time on the clock said it was almost midnight. _Squall must have just left the office; but what kept him working late tonight?

"_Water?" Zell asked, walking over to the sink._

"_Thanks." Squall took a seat on Zell's couch. Zell filled the water glass and returned to sit next to Squall. He handed him the cup and waited. "Rinoa wants me to go to Deling City with her."_

Well, of course. She never gets to see you here and that is her home.___"Okay. Is there a problem with that?"_

_Squall frowned at him. "I have a job here."_

"_Not one that Xu and Quistis can't handle, baby," Zell said. _

"_Then no. There is no problem." Squall didn't move from his spot on the couch. _

What does he want from me? Advice? I can't give him honest advice. He shouldn't go to Deling. But I can't say that. He's happy with Rinoa and I'm not going to interfere. He deserves to be happy. Even if... _ "This is what you want, right? To be with Rinoa?" Zell held Squall's eyes. Squall, for his part, didn't look away. _ Don't say yes. Say that you belong here, with me. Because you trust me like you never trust her which is why you're here with me now instead of in your room with her.

_Squall looked like he was going to say something. He didn't though, just swallowed thickly and nodded. "Thanks, Zell." He placed the cup on table in front of the couch, stood up, and left the room without another word._

_Zell sat back in the couch. _I am such an idiot. There was never a chance and I knew that from the beginning. Maybe I should find someone else and move the fuck on. It'll get easier with him out of sight. _But it hadn't. Zell had tried to move on, to date other people. The pig-tailed girl was nice but too silly. There had been others but always, in the back of his mind, Squall. Eventually, it became easier to just forget..._

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Squall leaned back in his couch, a headache threatening to pound his temples to pieces. The final meeting with Martine, Laguna, and himself had taken far longer than he had wanted. It was almost ten at night and he still hadn't eaten dinner. That would probably help his headache. So would a decent night's sleep before they moved out tomorrow.

There a knock at his door. "Its open," Squall called. He half-hoped it would be Zell. When he had caught Selphie during the lunch break, she had said Sis was there with him.

"Squall, do you have time to talk?" a distinctly feminine voice asked.

"Sure, Rinoa. What do you want?" Squall forced himself to sit up correctly in the couch.

Rinoa came moved into the room away from the door. She started to sit on the couch next to Squall but changed her mind and sat in one of the chair on the other side of the small coffee table. She crossed her legs at the knee as she sat and folded her hands in her lap. She was dressed in a pale blue skirt and a white shirt.

"I wanted to... apologize for...leaving you like I did." Rinoa wasn't meeting his eyes.

That was unexpected. What was he supposed to say? That it was alright? He forgave her and was willing to be friends? Is that what someone did in these sort of situations? He supposed he wasn't angry, not any more. In a way, she had helped.

Squall guessed that his silence was making Rinoa uneasy. She shifted in her seat. "It was a mistake, to break up with you," Rinoa said. "It was stupid and ill-thought out. I- I wanted you to..." Rinoa took a deep breath. "You were supposed to come after me."

"What?"

Rinoa stood up and walked to behind the couch, pacing. Squall stood up as well, his eyes following her every movement. "What I said. I...miscalculated. I wanted you to realize how much you love me and come after me in a sweeping declaration of love."

"When have I ever done that?"

Rinoa stopped her pacing. "I _know_. And that's why I was stupid. So, I'm sorry. I made a mistake and I should have known you better than that."

"So what do you want now?"

Rinoa stopped pacing and looked at him. "What do I want ...now?"

"That's what I asked."

"I want to...have another chance. To make it up to you. Let's try again, Squall. Please."

For once in his life, Squall didn't have to think about his response. "No. If that's what you came for tonight, you can leave."

Rinoa opened her mouth. Then she closed it. She looked like she was about to cry. "I know. I'm asking a lot but..." she was cut off as a knock sounded on the door.

"Come in," Squall called.

Zell entered the room. He looked from Rinoa to Squall. "Am I interrupting anything?"

"Squall and I were j-just talking..." Rinoa said.

"She was just leaving, actually," Squall said.

Zell touched Rinoa on the shoulder. "How about you let me talk to him, huh Rin?" he asked softly. Squall raised an eyebrow. Rinoa nodded and almost fled the room. Once the door was closed behind her, Zell turned to Squall. "She's a manipulative bitch. What'd she want, Squall?"

Squall's throat suddenly felt very, very dry. "You have your memories back."

Zell shrugged. "Some of them. The important ones." He gave Squall a rather intense look. "Hey, I'm starving. Forgot to get dinner. You wanna head to the cafeteria with me?"

Squall nodded. He wasn't exactly hungry anymore. Even if food were placed in front of him, he didn't think he could actually swallow it.

"You alright?" Zell asked, suddenly standing far too close. Squall nodded again. "You're just being really quiet, Squall."

"I-" Squall didn't get to finish what he was going to say as Zell's mouth closed over his own. He closed his eyes and leaned into the kiss, opening his mouth a little. Zell responded by bringing his hands up to pull Squall close and deepening the kiss. Squall moaned a little when Zell's tongue entered his mouth. After several long moments, Zell pulled away, leaving a hand on Squall's arm..

"You were saying something?" he asked. There was a smile dancing around his eyes.

"I don't remember," Squall said.

"Dinner?" Zell asked. "I really am starving."

"Yeah," Squall said. He pulled away from Zell and walked over to his phone. "But I think we should enjoy the perks of being the Commander." Squall felt Zell's eyes on him as he picked up the phone, called the cafeteria, and ordered two dinners sent to his room.

"You lucky bastard," Zell said. He flopped down in the couch and motioned for Squall to come sit next to him. "So, now that we got the hard part out of the way, what the hell did Rinoa want?"

"That was the hard part?" Squall asked. He went to sit next to Zell.

"Well, yeah." Zell grinned and leaned over to kiss Squall again. He pulled away. "See, much easier the second time."

"Its never just that easy."

"Sure, it can be. You'll see."

It was never that easy with Rinoa but this wasn't Rinoa, it was Zell and that made all the difference in the world. He pulled Zell in for another kiss and another. When the knock came for the dinners Squall had ordered, neither of them moved to answer the door.

_A/N: And yes, that is about as smutty as I can handle because I simply cannot write anything more graphic. A third apology for this chapter is in order. _


	13. Chapter 12 Before the Battle

Chapter 12- Before the Battle

Zell woke to a rather loud pounding on the door to the living room of the suite reserved for senior SeeD and a heavy weight pressed against his chest.

The weight against him moved and groaned a little. Zell blinked and looked down into Squall's eyes, suddenly feeling a bit nervous. Perhaps jumping the man as soon as he got his memories back wasn't the brightest of ideas. They probably should have talked things over first, figured out some of the details...

Zell's thoughts were cut short by Squall's mouth on his. After a short kiss, Squall pulled away suddenly. "I think I better answer the door," he said.

Zell chuckled. The knocking had only grown more frantic. "Sucks being the Commander, doesn't it?" he asked as Squall rose from the bed and grabbed clothes from the nearby dresser. "You're not going to look very commanderly for the upcoming battle if you don't take a shower first." He kept his eyes on Squall, enjoying the sight.

Squall glanced at the clock as he pulled his pants on. "We have to find where the battle is taking place, first."

"Is that who's at the door?" Zell yawned. He might as well get dressed. If they had new information, Squall would want him in the conference room with him. Not that Zell would be much help but he knew how Squall thought. Zell searched around the room for his pants. He found them tossed beside the bed.

Squall glanced back towards Zell before leaving the bedroom through the open door into the living room. Zell followed as soon as he zipped up his pants. He was pretty sure the shirt had come off before they had moved to the bedroom.

Squall opened the door just before the pounding started again. Rinoa stood in the doorway, her hand poised to continue knocking.

"You wanted something?" Squall asked.

Zell found his shirt crumpled by the sofa. He reached down to pull it on over his head, ignoring Rinoa's wide-eyed stare. "Morning, Rin," he said cheerfully.

"Xu wants you in your office," Rinoa said, her eyes not really leaving Zell. "Seifer's broadcast a message from Dollet."

"From Dollet?" Zell asked. "What's he doing there?"

"I don't know. Xu sent me to get you as soon as the message came on."

"The message is probably over by now but I'll head up. Zell, you might want to head back to your room to change before joining us." Squall brushed past Rinoa into the hallway and out of Zell's sight.

"You said you were going to talk to him..." Rinoa sounded uncertain.

"I did," Zell said. He grabbed his shoes but didn't bother putting them on. It was a short walk down the hallway to his own room. "Just not about you two. I had an agenda of my own." He walked over to Rinoa and made a shooing motion to move her back out of Squall's room. She obliged him and the door swung shut behind them, the automatic lock clicking into place.

"Well," Rinoa said softly, "I hope the two of you are very happy." Zell thought she might be tearing but but she turned away and walked down the hallway so fast he couldn't be certain.

Zell felt a momentary stab of guilt until the sheer joy of last night hit him again. Letting out a rather triumphant yell that startled a passing SeeD member, Zell went back to his room to make himself presentable for the day.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"...will continue until the Gardens come to face the Sorceress in Deling City." Seifer waited a few seconds after the broadcast until Quistis turned off the old camera. "Did I forget anything?"

"The part about Thyriss being completely insane?" Quistis asked.

"I thought Adler would have handled that part by now." Seifer moved out from the dusty studio to where Quistis was standing among the old broadcast equipment. He cursed as he tripped over a microphone stand and sent it clattering to the ground.

"So, what now?" Quistis asked him. "Do we head to Deling and rescue Matron?"

"I do, at least." Seifer leaned against the camera, his long coat protecting him from the worst of the dust. "You have other options."

"No, I don't. She's important to me too, Seifer." Quistis glanced at the doorway. "We should get going then."

Seifer didn't feel like moving. He was tired. His cut-and-dry rescue the kids mission was supposed to be easier than this. He had been going to go in, save the day, and be a fucking hero. Now it looked like he was a bloody traitor to Garden for the second time in his life. Only this time, it was unlikely he'd get a second chance at redemption. At least he had managed to get the kids off to Garden safely.

Quistis reached out to touch Seifer on the arm. Her hand was light, almost as if she was afraid to place it there. "Seifer, you did the best you could." Her voice was soft.

Seifer jerked his arm away. "Yeah, the best I could. I still managed to sentence Matron to death. Once Thyriss sees that army waiting for her..."

"She'll know that you sent Fuujin and Raijin to save as many innocent lives as possible," Quistis said, her voice becoming rather sharp. She stepped up closer to Seifer, her arm on his coat. "Don't forget, this is the woman who planned with her husband to raise the very children that would later kill her. She's been prepared for this for longer than you and I have been conscious."

"I know that but..."

"She's proud of you, Seifer. The only reason you and she are alive right now is because of you. You've given Balamb valuable information that Adler _could not_ have gotten on his own. Squall, Fuujin, Raijin, and everyone at Balamb knows that you did everything you could to help us win this."

Seifer nodded mutely. Quistis had a point. Several of them, actually. And they were good and valid. "I still feel like there was more I could have done."

Quistis smiled a little sadly at him. "We always feel that way." Quistis pulled back a little and studied the hand that still clutched his jacket. "There's something I still haven't done, though," she said softly.

"Quistis?"

Quistis leaned up and kissed Seifer solidly on the mouth. Seifer hesitated only a moment before kissing her back. He pulled her closer, wrapping one arm around her waist and tangling the other in her hair.

Several moments later, Quistis pulled back, her cheeks flushed. They looked at each other, neither one saying anything.

"We should've done that sooner," Seifer said finally.

Quistis giggled. "Well, you are my lover."

Seifer snorted. He moved his hand from her hair and touched her on the cheek. "There'll be time for that later."

"You were certain we were both going to die saving Matron a moment ago." Quistis sounded amused.

"Yeah, but I have a reason to make sure all three of us get out of this alive now." Seifer leaned forward and kissed Quistis again before pulling himself away from her. He better move now or he would end up staying here forever. He did however, keep hold of her hand. "We better get going."

Quistis kept pace with him as they climbed over the crumbling electronics of the broadcast station and left the building into the bright afternoon sunlight.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"...will continue until the Gardens come to face the Sorceress in Deling City." After a moment of silence, Seifer's face cut out and the more typical static cut in.

"Well, that makes this easier," Zell said. "We know where they are now."

"But she's holding an entire city hostage," Rinoa said. "My city." She turned to Squall. "We have to save them."

Of course they did. He didn't need Rinoa to tell him that. Before he could say so, however, the telecommunications device buzzed for his attention. Squall reached over to toggle the audio and video feeds. He was unsurprised when both Laguna and Martine appeared on the screens in front of him.

"Caught that, Leonhart?" Martine asked.

Squall nodded. "Deling City it is, then." His thoughts were still on the broadcast. Seifer had left Edea with the main force. He doubted this Sorceress would have let him leave with a hostage. But Fuujin and Raijin would have never left his side. Which meant that Seifer wasn't alone. And there was Quistis' location to consider as well.

"At least we don't have to split our forces," Laguna said. "Well, any more than I was already splitting mine."

"If she thinks she can just walk right over the Galbadian army, she's in for a surprise," Martine said.

"Maybe not much of one,"Laguna said. "She did destroy Trabia easily enough."

"We need to get going," Rinoa said. "We don't have time to waste...discussing how long the army will hold out. The point is they won't last long if we don't get there to help. Even if there somehow prepared!"

"Rin's right," Zell said. "We need to get moving."

Squall nodded. "Balamb will be ready to move within the hour. See that Galbadia is as well." He reached over and turned off Martine's feed. The man would be infuriated but Squall had the feeling he would get over it. "Laguna, I need a favor."

"You want me to send one of my ships over to pick up Almassy?"

Squall nodded. "You were sending them with the troops to secure the towns, right? Have them drop off Seifer and whoever is with him there."

"You think Raijin and Fuujin left the army with him?" Zell asked.

"Quistis too, perhaps. Either way, I want them secured."

Laguna nodded. "I can understand why. I'll take care of it." He cut the transmission feed, leaving Squall to look at blank screens. Squall turned his attention to Rinoa. "When we get there, your priority is to neutralize the Sorceress' magic any way you can. Understood?"

Rinoa stood and nodded. "I've been...experimenting in the past few years," she said. "I'll have something ready." She turned and left the conference room.

Zell stood up. He walked behind Squall and put a hand on his shoulder. "We have work to do," he said.

Squall nodded and stood. It was time to get the Garden moving.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Edea put a hand to head to smooth back the dark strand that had blown free in the wind. From her vantage point on top of the tank next to Thyriss, she could see the two armies spread out below her.

"How did they know?" Thyriss asked. She turned to face Edea, her brown eyes hard. "Your Knight did this."

"I knew we couldn't trust him," Ormis said, "but I never suspected he would leave you to die."

Edea smiled. She should be scared, or worried, but she wasn't. She was proud. Seifer had done exactly the right thing. Even if Thyriss struck her down here and now, it would be worth it if a few lives could be saved. "Seifer knew his priority was to protect the majority, not just me. That's why he let the Valhalla leave without us."

"You knew he would betray you?" Thyriss asked. "If so, why didn't you speak up? I wouldn't have sent him to Dollett." Did she not hear her own lover?

"He didn't betray me, Thyriss," Edea said. "He did what was right. Your argument is with the Gardens, not these people." Edea waved her hand out over the Galbadian army. They were waiting, she supposed for Thyriss to make the first move. "There's still for you to call a retreat and rethink this plan of yours."

"She can't do that," Ormis said. "This army will tear her apart. If not today, then tomorrow or the next day."

Edea looked at Ormis and saw how much he believed what he said. She smiled sadly. The time had come to tell them the truth. If they didn't believe her, it was too late anyway. But not too late if they did. "You don't understand, Ormis. No one is trying to kill Thyriss, least of all these poor soldiers. Even the Gardens were never designed to kill _all_ sorceresses. They were designed by me and my husband to kill me. What you overheard that day was an overgeneralization."

"Then why are you still alive?" Ormis asked. "They should have killed you at the end of the Sorceress War."

"But they didn't. What does that tell you?" Edea turned to Thyriss. "He only wants to see you safe but that is no reason to continue this fight. No one will harm you if you give up your army."

"Lies!" Ormis said. "You're in league with them!" He turned to Thyriss. "You cannot believe her. I know what I heard."

Thyriss placed a restraining hand on Ormis' arm. "I do not believe her." There was a shred of doubt in her eyes, however. "You have never played me false, Ormis." She turned to Edea. "If what you say if true, why didn't you say anything in Centra?"

"Because you would have believed me as little then as you do now." And Edea and Seifer would have been killed out of hand instead of providing what Edea hoped was vital information to Squall.

"Let me kill the treacherous bitch," Ormis said. "Before she spreads any more lies."

Thyriss shook her head. "You will take her into the tank and tie her securely. Gag her, she can't cast spells without her mouth. We'll deal with her after we've won Deling City."

Edea didn't resist as Ormis dragged her down into the dark tank. The last thing she heard before the tank's door blocked out all sound of the outside world was Thyriss' order to attack.


	14. Chapter 13 The Sorceress War

_A/N: This is why I don't write well at night. After looking over the last several chapters, Squall and company did know about all of Thyriss' plans and were expecting the message from Seifer because Fuujin and Raijin got to Deling City first and called it in. Right. The frusterating part about this is that I had originally written the piece with Squall and Zell with that information in mind, thought that they didn't know and re-wrote it to reflect that. Looks like I was right the first time. Its something to fix in editing, so please ignore the author's inability to remember her own freaking story for now. My apologies. _

Chapter 13- The Third Sorceress War

A loud humming sound woke Seifer from his sleep. They were still at least half a day's march from Deling City but it was entirely possible that Thyriss had sent a tank of some sort to look for him.

Quistis murmured a protest as Seifer sat up. She slid sleepily off of his chest to kneel on the rocky ground.

The pre-dawn light was still cool enough that the embers burning from their fire was comforting rather than hot. Seifer blinked and looked up into the mostly dark sky. Was the sound coming from above them?

Quistis yawned. "Is that...?"

Seifer stood up, his gunblade in hand by his side. They really should have posted a guard but there were things more important than watching for monsters. "Sounds like an airship," he said, looking up. There, in the sky was a light coming towards them.

Quistis pulled grabbed her whip and stood up next to Seifer. "Does anyone other than Esthar have an airship yet?"

Seifer wasn't sure. The light was drawing closer to them. They had a decision to make sooner rather than later. "So, if its Esthar, we don't run, right?"

"But if its not..."

"We're screwed anyway," Seifer said as the light hit full in the face. Seifer had to shield his eyes from its intensity. He was unsurprised when, moments later, the humming sound shifted to the sound of the ship landing.

"Can you tell if its the Valhalla or the Ragnorok?" Quistis asked.

It was too dark to make out color of the ship. "Not really." Seifer watched the ship land. Beside him, Quistis reached down to throw another log on the fire. "Why...?"

"Because I'm having breakfast before I go anywhere," Quistis said. "Even if Thyriss did somehow get an airship, they can wait to take us in until I eat."

Seifer shook his head. The embers would be better for cooking than a flame but maybe Quistis had another idea for that fire. He could certainly think of a few.

The airship landed and the door opened, the boarding ramp reaching down to the ground. Seifer relaxed when two, and only two, people emerged from the ship. And one of the two was distinctly pregnant.

"Quisty! Seifer! Glad to see you both!" Selphie called with an energetic wave. Seifer half expected one of her running pounces into Quistis but he supposed it was harder for her to do that at the moment.

Irvine followed more slowly, his rifle resting on his shoulder. "You two look awfully relaxed for a war going on around you." He was now close enough that he could talk normally.

"I thought we were still pretty far from the fighting," Quistis said, standing up from her kneeling position. "

"Close enough that I wouldn't have been caught sleeping out here," Irvine replied.

Selphie gave Quistis a hug. "We were sooo worried about you!" she said after releasing Quistis.. "Squall sent us as soon as he got your message from Dollet."

"The warning was Seifer's idea," Quistis said.

"It was exactly the information Squall and Martine needed," Irvine said. "They were planning to launch an assault but weren't sure where to launch it."

"Then its possible the Gardens will get there before Deling City falls," Seifer said.

"Only if they had time to mount a..." Selphie trailed off. "That's where Fuujin and Raijin are."

Quistis nodded.

"What about Edea?" Irvine asked.

"With the Sorceress," Seifer said. "I couldn't think of a way to get her out along with us..." Seifer trailed off, not sure how the duo in front of him would take his decision to abandon Matron.

"Right. We should get going and let Squall know that Edea's still with the Sorceress," Selphie said. Seifer felt a little lighter when she didn't question his decision. "You two should grab your things. We don't want to be late. The Gardens should be hitting Deling City today at some point and I want to be back in Esthar when that happens."

Quistis knelt to start packing up their things. It seems her breakfast plans were forgotten. In the east, the sun was just rising. Seifer kicked out the fire. "What's in Esthar?" he asked.

"One third of its army," Irvine said. "We've secured the towns that the Sorceress likely to run to. We're going to circle in the Valhalla to for signs of her portal opening and give back up to the Esthar soldiers in the area."

"Excellent plan," Quistis said. "Squall come up with it?" She finished packing their bags and handed Seifer his.

"Laguna, actually," Selphie said. "Ready?"

"Let's go," Seifer said. He followed Irvine towards the Valhalla. Damned if he was missing his ride this time.

"So, Quistis, looks like congratulations are in order," Selphie said from behind him.

"What?" Seifer turned around to look at the maniacally grinning brunette.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Quistis said.

"Sure," Selphie skipped ahead of Irvine. "But I saw only one pile of blankets by that fire." She giggled as she disappeared into the ship. "Bout time, Quisty!"

Seifer had the feeling it would be a long ride back to Esthar.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Edea was actually rather bored. Around here were wounded soldiers from Thyriss' army being treated by rather inexperienced medics. Apparently Thyriss had not thought to bring along healers for her troops. The cure spells they used to ease pain of the wounded were weak and ineffectual. Edea could have performed better but then, she did have years of experience treating injured children. Not battle wounds to be sure, but still, she could have been helpful. Their mundane healing talents were also considerably lacking.

But, Edea didn't offer to help. She might have, had she been able to speak. As it was, she saw no reason to make herself any more prominent in Thyriss eyes. Perhaps the Sorceress was too busy fighting to remember Edea and, when the battle was over, Edea could find a way to slip away. That is, if she could remove the chains binding her arms to the post behind her.

During the several days of fighting, Edea had time for many observations. First, Adler had obviously done his job of getting word out. Thyriss had wasted much of her energy in the first volleys of the fighting performing her anti-tech spell only to learn that the Galbadian army had switched to swords and hastily constructed catapults for this battle. The waste of the spell had drained Thyriss for several days. It also seemed that, although Thyriss was more experience than she in terms of more powerful spells, she lacked the ability to create quick spells on the fly. And she lacked the experience in battle to know which spells would be useful. Several well timed fireballs would have decimated the Galbadian forces early in the fight. But again, Edea wasn't offering advice or assistance, even if she could speak.

Still, Thyriss was trying new things at least. Edea had heard something about a poison cloud that had taken out many of the opposing soldiers. It was only a matter of time before Thyriss won this battle. Fortunately, it would take a while since Thyriss had only a limited amount of energy each day. Every time she appeared in the camp where Edea was held she was looking more and more exhausted.

And, the matter of time might mean that the Garden's would have time to arrive before Thyriss could take control of the city.

Edea smiled to herself in her corner of the tent. She quickly wiped it from her face, however. It wouldn't do to have one of the the soldiers notice and take action to avenge Thyriss without her permission.

From her vantage point, Edea could not see the actual fighting; Thyriss had set up her camp a ways back from the front lines.

There was a disturbance in the crowd of soldiers near Edea. Edea raised her head to see Thyriss storming towards her, Ormis following in tow.

Edea raised an eyebrow.

"Don't say a bloody word," Thyriss hissed. She looked pale and there were bags under her eyes. Her curly hair was in disarray and her clothes were dirty. Ormis looked slightly better but his eyes were shadowed and his hand was clenched too tightly around his staff.

If Edea had been able to talk, she would have pointed out that she was still gagged and thus could not. She forced her face to remain calm, however.

"Unchain her and let's move," Thyriss said. "We can't wait around."

"Of course," Ormis replied. He handed his staff over to Thyriss and walked behind Edea. She could feel the chains being unlocked from around the pole. They were still tight about her wrists however. Ormis yanked Edea to her feet and pressed a knife against her back. "One wrong move, Sorceress and I'll be happy to finish you right here."

Edea stumbled a little as Ormis pushed her ahead of him. They walked quickly through the crowds of wounded soldiers. Towards the fighting.

"Why are we going back?" Ormis said.

"I want the portal where my soldiers will be able to follow," Thyriss said.

"That defeats the purpose of getting you away from the fighting." Ormis pressed the knife harder into Edea's back as they walked.

"They didn't ask me to retreat, Ormis. I'll keep the portal open as long as I can so as many of my soldiers can escape as possible." As they neared the battlegrounds, Edea saw the reason for the retreat. Both Balamb and Galbadia Garden were unloading troops on either side of the Sorceress' army. This meant they were pinched from three sides and could only retreat back. And, even if Thyriss had been able to re-cast her anti-tech spell on such short notice, it would not have helped against the sheer numbers now against the Sorceress.

Thyriss stopped well enough back from the fighting that they were in no real danger yet. Edea saw her preparing to cast her portal spell. Out of corner of Edea's eye, she caught sight of a rather familiar trio of heads, making their way towards them though the battle. Edea carefully didn't look at the approaching SeeDs. As soon as Thyriss' portal was open, she stepped through it. Ormis pushed Edea at knifepoint through portal.

Edea blinked in the warm sunshine of southern Esthar only to be greeted by the sight of several Esthari soldiers holding them at gunpoint.

Ormis moved the knife from her back to her neck and wrapped an arm around her waist holding her close.

It looked like they were at a standstill.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Squall stood on Balamb's bridge where he would have a good vantage point of the battle. Rinoa was next to him to the left. Zell rather impatiently to his right. Squall knew his lover wanted to be in the fight but Squall wanted him on hand in case he needed him.

The battle was going well. The Sorceress' army was taken completely by surprise by the arrival of the two Gardens and it appeared that Deling City had held out just long enough. Now, the Sorceress' forces were in disarray. It wouldn't be a long or terribly difficult battle.

"Sense anything, Rin?" Zell asked.

Rinoa shook her head. "If she's casting magic of any sort, I can't feel it."

Squall swept his eyes over the battlefield. "She might be too tired."

"Or running away," Zell said. "Either way, I don't think this battle will be as difficult as we first thought." He shot Squall a cocky grin. "Guess we could have handled this without you, huh, Commander?"

"Don't say that, Zell!" Rinoa said. "You know as well as I do that Squall's..." Rinoa was cut off by the sound of elevator behind her.

Squall turned to see Xu in the doorway. She looked a little out of breath. "Commander, Edea's still missing. I just received word from Selphie. Seifer couldn't find a way to pull her out with him and the others."

Squall looked out over the battlefield again. This was why Zell and Rinoa were with him and not in the middle of the fighting. "We'll go get her then. She'll most likely be near the Sorceress." He turned to Rinoa. "I know you said you can't feel her doing anything, but can you sense her at all?"

Rinoa closed her eyes and frowned. Squall waited several long seconds while Zell fidgeted beside him. "Yes, I can. She's near the rear of the battle, near her camp." She opened her eyes again.

"Then let's go get her!" Zell said

"Xu, take charge of the battle. You two, with me." Without a backward glance, Squall walked to the elevator, Zell and Rinoa behind him. "Rinoa, keep track of her. Let me know if she moves," Squall said as the elevator descended to the first level of the Garden. "Try to avoid getting yourself caught up in a fight. We need to keep moving if we're going to get to Edea in time."

"In time for what?" Rinoa asked. The elevator opened.

"Before Thyriss runs away with her or kills her," Zell said.

"She could have done that already," Rinoa said.

Instead of wasting more time, Squall started off in a loping run towards the Garden's entrance and the fighting. Zell and Rinoa kept pace beside him.

The battle was a chaotic mess, enemies only identifiable by the uniform. Squall led his small group around the worst of the fighting, Rinoa occasionally calling out directions. When they passed a lone Galbadian SeeD struggling with two of the Sorceress' soldiers at once, Zell took a minute to rescue the grateful man. A little later, Squall himself intervened on the behalf of two Galbadian soldiers.

It wasn't long before they reached the edge of the fighting. "Squall, she's doing something," Rinoa said.

Squall didn't need Rinoa's warning. He could see them. The Sorceress had a mess of red hair and what could only be her Knight had a knife pointed at Edea's back. The Sorceress was standing still, her eyes closed and she was concentrating.

Squall pushed harder through the fighting, Zell by his side. He used his gunblade to disable a soldier in his path while Zell punched through another one. Rinoa trailed behind them.

A black disk appeared in front of the Sorceress. She stepped through it, followed by her Knight and Edea just as Squall reached the edge of the line. Squall sprinted through the disk, Zell and Rinoa close on his heels.

Squall blinked in the bright sunshine of Esthar. He could feel Zell and Rinoa stop just inches from where he himself had paused to take in the tableau in front of him.

In the distance was the Valhalla. Several Esthari soldiers circled the Portal with their guns at the ready, pointing to the figures in the middle. In the distance, Squall could see what he assumed was the Valhalla, already opened and, Squall presumed, empty.

Closer at hand, Seifer held his gunblade against the Sorceress, Quistis stood not too far from him while Irvine had his gun pointed at the Knight who had his knife against Edea's throat.

"Let her go before I end this now!" Seifer said. His hand covered the Sorceress mouth, presumably to keep her from casting spells.

The Knight looked from Seifer to Squall. Behind Squall, the portal snapped shut.

"Who is this?" the Knight asked.

"Rin, can you do anything?" Zell asked behind him.

"Not without alerting the Sorceress," Rinoa said.

"Squall Leonhart, Commander of Balamb." Squall put his gunblade away and walked slowly in between the two Knights. "Why don't both of you calm down and let both women go."

"Bullshit, Squall," Seifer said. "He grabbed Matron first."

"But its not helping, Seifer," Quistis said.

Squall wondered briefly if Irvine would be able to take the shot, but he doubted it. Not with Edea in the way.

"Well then, Commander, tell your traitor to let Thyriss go."

"He just did," Zell said. "He told both of you to let go." Zell took a step towards the Knight.

"Stop right there!" The Knight pressed his blade deeper against Edea's throat. A spot of blood appeared along the edge. "I will kill her."

Seifer snarled something and threw the Sorceress to the ground. "Let her go!" Seifer started walking towards the Knight.

Several Esthari soldiers grabbed the Sorceress and pulled her to her feet.

"Seifer, stop!" Squall moved to intervene between his former rival and the Knight. A the same time, the Sorceress yelled, "Ormis, don't!" Squall turned in time to see the Knight's blade bite deep into Edea's neck.

Several things happened all at the same moment.

Ormis backed away from Edea as her body fell slowly to the ground, her eyes wide and glassy. A single shot rang out from Irvine's gun. The bullet hit the Knight's shoulder. Zell sprang forward to take the Knight into custody. He pulled the man to his feet and kept him firmly in place, arms pinned behind him.

Seifer snarled something and went for the Knight, his gunblade ready. Squall leapt in front of Seifer, drawing his own blade and catching Seifer's with it just before it hit Squall's forehead. Squall pushed the man back as Quistis ran up to grab his free arm. Seifer shook her off but Squall still stood between him and the Knight. "It won't help, Seifer," Quistis pleaded. Seifer looked back at Quistis, snarled, and threw his gunblade down.

Thyriss screamed and broke away from her captors only to have Rinoa slam a spell into her forcing her back against the ground. The soldiers quickly recovered their hold on the Sorceress and held her firmly. "I'm blocking your magic, Thyriss," Rinoa told the Sorceress calmly. "Don't try and fight and fight me."

Thyriss turned wide eyes on Rinoa. "You're a Sorceress. And..you're helping...SeeD?" Her face paled. "Edea was telling the truth..."

"She bloody told you?" Seifer asked. "She told you the truth and you didn't believe her." He stalked over to the Sorceress. "This never had to happen!"

"Stand down, Almassy," Squall said, keeping pace with the red-head.

Seifer looked at him, something rather raw and painful in the man's eyes. His arm shook as though he wanted to slug something. Possibly Squall. He hesitated a moment before turning on his heel and storming off towards the Valhalla. The circle of Esthari soldiers parted to let him pass. Quistis looked from Squall to Seifer.

"Go, Quistis," Squall said. "I can handle it here."

Quistis turned and followed Seifer through the crowd.

"Laguna wants the Sorceress taken to Esthar," Squall told the soldiers. "I'll need two of you to to keep her under guard on the Valhalla." He looked at Rinoa. "Can you keep her bound?"

Rinoa nodded. "She's not fighting it, Squall."

"Zell, take her Knight on board first."

"Seifer's there, man. Not a good idea."

"Keep them below decks," Irvine suggested. "I'll go keep Quistis and Seifer on the bridge until we're back in the city."

Squall nodded. "Go." Irvine tipped his hat and sauntered off in the direction of the ship.

Zell pushed the Knight forward. "I'll fix that bullet hole once we're inside," he told the Knight.

As they passed, the Knight looked at Squall. "I was just trying to keep her safe," he said. "This isn't her fault."

Squall kept his face blank as the man passed. Each person was responsible for their own decisions, their own actions. Ormis might have lied, or misunderstood the truth, but Thyriss had made the decision to build the army, to destroy Trabia, to threaten the thousands of innocent lives in Deling City.

Following Zell, the soldiers pushed Thyriss forward, Rinoa following. "Once we get on board, make sure she's gagged so she can't talk," Squall said.

He walked over to Edea's body, reached down and closed her eyes. Gently, he lifted the body and carried over to the airship. He may have just won the Third Sorceress War but this was a rather hollow victory.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The service for Edea was short and brief. The orphans, both the current ones and the older SeeD members had all been there to lay their Matron to rest. Cid looked like had aged several years in the days proceeding the funeral. Selphie had the feeling that the man would not live much longer without Edea beside him.

As the crowds around the casket started to thin out Selphie cast a glance at Quistis and Seifer. The loss seemed to have hit Seiver the hardest out of all of them. The red-headed man had taken Edea's death as a personal failing on his part, Quistis had told Selphie earlier. Right now, Seifer had his arms around Quistis and his face was buried in her hair. Selphie allowed herself a small smile. At least some good had come out of this.

"Ready, Selph?" Irvine asked.

Selphie nodded. "Yeah, let's go on." She weaved her arm through Irvine's as they made their way through the rocky terrain back towards Balamb. Squall would be moving the Garden back to its original position as soon as everyone was back on board the ship.

Zell was waiting for them at the entrance to Garden.

"Where's the Commander?" Irvine asked as they passed into the building.

"Upstairs with Xu, conferencing with Laguna," Zell replied. "It seems that Thyriss is responding well to some psychological counseling. Laguna's thinking some sort of incarceration slash community service."

"Good," Selphie said. "What about her Knight?"

Zell frowned. "That's what they're still discussing. Ormis isn't responding. He still believes that Thyriss is in danger from SeeDs. Only now it's not just us. Its Galbadia, Esthar, Balamb, everyone. Even Rinoa's presence can't convince him that no one is persecuting Sorceresses."

"What about Thyriss herself?" Irvine asked.

"What are they going to do with him?" Selphie said at the same time.

Zell shrugged. "Both of those are above my pay grade. I'll be glad to have things settle back down to normal. I'm still trying to sort through all my memories."

"It'll probably take a while," Irvine said. "But, looks like you figured out the important stuff."

Zell grinned. Though it was more tired than normal, Selphie was relieved to see that it was an honest grin. The old Zell. "Yeah, I did. How long did you know anyway?"

Irvine snorted. "Please. You two were dancing around each other through the entire Second Sorceress War. If Rinoa hadn't been involved..."

"Squall would never have admitted anything ever," Zell said. "I am grateful to her. I would never have spoken up."

Selphie yawned. Since the events in Esthar, she had been through several sleepless nights. On top of her growing discomfort in most positions, the desire to hit the bathroom more regularly, and a ton of work to do, Selphie was exhausted. "I think I'm going to lay down," she told the boys.

Zell nodded. "I'm waiting for Quistis and Seifer before heading up to let Squall know to move out."

"Right. See you, Zell." Irvine tugged Selphie along with him.

As they neared their room, a thought occurred to Selphie. "Irvine," she said as Irvine pressed his hand against their door to unlock it.

"Yeah, babe." Irvine walked into the room and pulled Selphie along after him. The lights came on automatically in the small suite.

"I think...after the baby is born...I want to go help Trabia rebuild." Selphie wasn't sure what Irvine would say to that. He had friends here in Balamb. Hell, all their friends were here in Balamb. But Selphie was tired of her Garden being destroyed. Maybe if she was there, she could do something to prevent it.

Of course, maybe Irvine would chose to stay here in Balamb. That thought wasn't exactly out of the question.

"Sure thing, Selph," Irvine said. He sat down on the couch and kicked off his boots. "I bet we can do a lot of good there."

Selphie smiled as she lay down on the couch, her head on Irvine's lap. It wasn't long before she drifted off to sleep.


	15. Epilogue

Epilogue

_One year after the Third Sorceress War_

The sun was shining brightly and a cool breeze was blowing off of the nearby sea, making the heat outside almost tolerable. The stones on the pavement beneath Zell's feet sent up heat through the soles of his shoes and his shirt stuck to his back with sweat.

"You're sure about this, Selphie?" Quistis asked her. "Trabia's a long way from here."

"At least it'll be cooler there," Seifer said. He hefted one of the large suitcases into the trunk of the nearly-filled car.

Selphie nodded, her eyes mostly serious for once. "I'm sure, Quistis. So much has happened to Trabia, I need to be there for it. Its my home."

"Also, there's less trouble for Edea to get into up there," Irvine added, coming out of the Garden with his three month-old daughter held carefully in his arms. Squall followed carrying two large suitcases. The last of the Irvine and Selphie's things.

"She's not even a year, Irvine," Zell said. "How much trouble do you expect her to get into?"

"She'll get older," Irvine said.

"Babies do that," Seifer said. "That's why you gotta keep an eye on them."

"Which will be easier up there in the snow than down here," Irvine said.

Selphie rolled her eyes. "As if that was the reason I was going." She looked over the car, at the suitcases in Squall's hands, and back at the car. "There's no room for those," she said, pouting.

Squall shrugged. He started rummaging through the trunk. Zell came over to help him. After several minutes of re-shuffling, the last of the luggage was packed and Selphie and Irvine were ready to go.

"That's it then," Squall said, closing the trunk of the car. "Good luck unloading all of this at the train station."

Irvine laughed. "It'll be Selphie's turn to hold Edea and look cute." He walked over to the car, opened the door and started settling the baby in the car seat.

"You know," Squall said, "this is harder from this side of things than the other."

Selphie giggled. "Now you know how we felt."

"At least Zell isn't likely to forget you." There was a small smile on Squall's lips as he spoke.

"Yeah, right. As if I'd let him forget me!" Selphie waved her hand. A gemstone caught the sunlight and glinted, catching Zell's eye. "Besides, we have a wedding to plan!" She giggled as she hopped into the car. Irvine tipped his hat to the group before climbing in the driver's side. "And you all better be there!" he called back as he started the engine and pulled off to the chorus of well-wishers.

Quistis and Seifer wrapped their arms around each other and sauntered into the Garden. Zell started to follow them until he noticed that Squall wasn't moving. "What's up?" he asked.

"Just thinking," Squall said. His gaze was rather distant off towards the beach.

"About?" Zell waited while Squall put his thoughts in order. It could take Squall a long time to say what he finally meant, but usually, he did.

A cloud drifted over the sun, temporarily casting the two of them in a sea of shadow surrounded by sunlight. The cloud passed over before Squall spoke again. "You're right."

"Of course I am. About what?" Zell waited for Squall's response.

"You and I. Being easy."

From Squall, that was tantamount to a public proposal in a high class restaurant. Zell stepped closer to Squall and slipped his arm around Zell's waist. He was pleased when Squall's arm automatically went around his shoulder. It was nice, standing there in the sunlight.

Squall looked back out over the beach, still lost in thought. Zell knew he wasn't finished but he also knew the Commander had a ton of paperwork on his desk and a teleconference with Martine in a half hour. "You've got work to get to, baby," Zell said, reluctantly pulling away.

"I know." Squall hesitated for a moment before he reached over to pull Griever off of his hand. "We can't do anything formal but, if you want it, you can have it." He held the ring out to Zell.

Zell felt a grin spread across his face. He couldn't have stopped it if he wanted to. He reached out and took the ring from Squall's hand and slid it onto his finger before pulling Squall into a kiss. Behind him, Zell heard some students stopping to give them catcalls but he didn't let Squall go for several moments. When he finally did, he knew he was still grinning like a lunatic.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Rinoa stepped out of the psychiatric ward in Esthar's hospital. She was tired and wished there was more she could do for the Knight she had been visiting. There was something about him that didn't sit right with Rinoa but she couldn't place her finger on it. Thyriss felt it as well, the one time Rinoa had been able to convince Laguna to allow her to visit.

If she knew more, then she would have an answer. But that was always the case, always the reason. Even in Esthar, information about Sorceresses was scarce.

Rinoa stepped out into the bright afternoon sunlight and onto Esthar's crystal blue pathways. It didn't take long before she was back in her guest suite in the Presidential Residence. She had offered to rent an apartment but Laguna and Ellone both insisted that she stay near them. Rinoa wondered briefly if they would have been so accommodating if Squall hadn't been so happy with Zell.

Rinoa sat down on her couch, a glass of water at hand and picked up the heavy tome she was working through. A history of the Ancient Sorceresses. It contained very little information about the actual magic but the glimpses it did have were fascinating.

There was a knock at Rinoa's door. "Come in," Rinoa called. It was most likely Ellone. She usually stopped by around this time.

When Rinoa looked up, it wasn't Ellone. The man was tall with blond hair, green eyes, and glasses. "Sorceress Rinoa Heartilly?" he asked, striding into the room.

Rinoa stood up. She readied a fire spell should she need to get out of the room in a hurry. "Yes? May I help you?"

"No. But I may be able to help you. Please, have a seat." The stranger took the chair across from the couch. "You won't be needing your spells, Sorceress. I will not harm you."

Rinoa sat down as her magic deserted her. She attempted to hold the spell again, but it slipped through her mind like grains of sand. "Who are you?" she asked, her eyes a little wide.

"A friend." The man, sitting forward to rest his hands on knees. "A friend who knows more about magic than any Sorceress living. I can share that information with you, Rinoa."

"For what price?" Rinoa asked. She couldn't seem to look away from his eyes. They seemed to glow from within.

The man smiled. "Nothing you won't be able to pay."

_A/N: Oh, did I leave plot threads hanging for a sequel maybe? Hmmm...let's see what I can do about that. But seriously, there is a sequel coming, I hope to have the first chapter posted by the end of this weekend (I know roughly where I'm going and what I'm doing it with it). But, it's a busy weekend and on Monday my summer vacation ends and I go back to work, so my pace will be slower during the sequel. (Now, if anyone wants to convince my husband to let me stay at home...). Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy! All comments and criticism appreciated. _


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